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TOROi-jTO
LIBRARY
Miiiiitl:^.^
A
POPULAR ACCOUNT
OP
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
REVISED AND ABRIDGED FROM HIS LARGER WORK,
BY SIR J. GARDNER WILKINSON, D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
IN TWO VOLUMES.— Vol. I.
lUustratfb foitb <f ibc ^unbuxi aSloobcuts.
NEW EDITION.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1871.
lONDON: PRINTED BI WILLIAM CLOWES AKD SONS, STAMFORD STREET
AND CHARING CROSS.
^
'y
PREFACE.
The present account of the '' Ancient Egyptians " is chiefly an
abridgment of that written by me in 1836; to which I have
added other matter, in consequence of my having re-visited Egypt,
and later discoveries having been made, since that time.
I have here and there introduced some remarks relating to the
Greeks, thinking that a comparison of the habits and arts of other
people, with those of the Egyptians, may be interesting ; and the
impulse now given to taste in England has induced me to add
some observations on decorative art, as well as on colour, form,
and proportion, so well understood in ancient times. And as
many of the ideas now gaining ground in this country, regarding
colour, adaptability of materials, the non-imitation of natural
objects for ornamental purposes, and certain rules to be observed
in decorative works, have long been advocated by me, and pro-
perly belong to the subject of Egypt, I think the opportunity
well suited for expressing my opinion upon them ; while I rejoice
that public attention has been invited to take a proper view of
the mode of improving taste.
Attention being now directed towards the question of the pre-
cious metals, some observations, on the comparative wealth of
ancient and modern times, have also appeared to be not out of
place.
Of the Religion and History of Egypt, I have only introduced
what is necessary for explaining some points comiected with them ;
being persuaded that a detailed account of those subjects would.
a 2
IV PREFACE.
not be generally attractive, and might be omitted on a work not
intended to treat of what is still open to conjecture. For the
same reason I have abstained from all doubtful questions respect-
ing the customs of the Egyptians ; and have confined myself to
as short a notice of them as possible.
References too are mostly omitted, having been given before.
Several new woodcuts have been added, and others have been
introduced instead of some of the lithographic plates in the pre-
vious work ; and as an Index is more useful than a mere list of
contents, I have given a very copious one, which will be foiwid
to contain all the most important references.
August, 1853.
( V )
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
CHAPTER I.
PAOB
Character of the Egyptians — Original populations — Social life —
Houses — Villas — Farmyards — Gardens — Vineyards — Winepress
— Wines — Beer — Furniture of rooms — Chairs .... 1
CHAPTER II.
Reception of guests — Music — Various instruments — Sacred music
— Dance 73
CHAPTER III.
Amusement of the guests — Vases — Ornaments of the house — Pre-
paration for dinner — The kitchen — Mode of eating — Spoons —
Washing before meals — Figure of a dead man brought in — Games
■within, and out of, doors — Wrestling — Boat-fights— Bull-fights . 141
CHAPTER IV.
The Chase— Wild animals — Dogs — Birds — Fishing — Chase of
the hippopotamus — Crocodile — Its eggs — The trochilus — List
of the animals of Egjpt — Birds — Plants — Emblems — Offerings
— Ceremonies 212
CHAPTER V.
Origin of the Egj-ptians — Population of Egypt and of the world of
old — History — The king —Princes — Priests — Their system —
Religion — Gods — Triads — Dresses and mode of life of the
priests — Soldiers —Arms — Chariots — Ships and navy — enemies
of Egypt — Conquests 302
( vii )
LIST OF WOODCUTS
In Vol. I.
Those with ** prefixed are navtcoodcuts ; icith • new tuoodcicU copied from lithographs of
the previous vxn-k:
** Frontispiece.
A complete Egyptian Temple, surrounded by the Temenos, or " grove,"
planted with trees. A procession, •with the sacred boat, or ark, advances
from the hypsethral building at the extremity of the paved dromos.
A wooden model of the ijrove was sometimes carried in these processions,
as behind the statue of Khem. It Mas doubtless similar to the "grove"
which the Israelites " brought out " and " burnt" — 2 Kings, xxiii. 6 ;
Isaiah, xxvii. 9. The real grove is also mentioned, Exod. xxxiv. 1.3 ;
Judges, vi. 26, &c.
CHAPTER I.
Vignette
A. Part of Cairo, showing the Mulkufs on the houses
Woodcut
1. House with a il/«/Av// ....
2 Over the door, a sentence, "The good house"
3. Doorway, with a king's name
.5.^ Plans of houses .....
6.)
7. Tower of a house .....
8.
9.
10. Entrance to a house .
1 1 . Plans of houses and a granary .
12. Model of a house
13. Model of a house (sliowing the court)
14. Bronze pins (serving as hinges) .
15. A folding-door ...
16. Mcde of fastening doors .
17. An iron key ....
I Porches of private houses
Page
1
9
9
10
12
13
14
15
15
16
16
» Painted and sculptured doorways
17
Vlll
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Woodcut
22. Roof representing palm beams . . . ,
23. Position of the rafters in the wall
24. Arches, roof, and floor over it .
25. A painted house .....
26. House with a battled parapet, from the sculptures
**27. Man in a boat on a lake, drawn by servants, from a tomb at
Thebes. ......
28. Entrances to large villas ....
29. Ornamental summit of walls
30. Villa, with obelisks and towers, like a temple
30a Panelled walls of an Egyptian building
31. Farm-yard, and plan made from it
32. Rooms for housing grain, apparently vaulted
33. Granary, showing how the grain was put in
34. Steward overlooking the tillage of the lands
35. Men watering the ground with pots of water
36. Wooden yoke and strap found at Thebes
37. Water-buckets carried by a yoke on the shoulders
38. Shaddof, or pole and bucket, for watering the garden
39. Water-skins suspended at a tank ; and square beds of a garden
40. Tree with earth raised round the roots
41. Hieroglyphic signifying "a tree"
42. A pomegranate tree .....
43. A large garden, with vineyard and other enclosures, tank and
house .......
44. Palm-trees on each side of a tank
45. The vineyard and orchai X contiguous .
46. Plucking the grapes; vines trained in bowers
47. Figurative hieroglyphic signifying " vineyard"
48. Vineyai'd, with a large tank of water .
49. Frightening away the birds with a sling
50. Basket containing grapes ....
51 . Monkies assisting in gathering fruit .
52. Kids allowed to browse on the vines .
53. A winepress ......
54. Large footpress and asp, the protecting deity of the store-room
55. The new wine poured into jars .
56. Wine-jars with covers ....
57. Vase supported by a stone ring .
' ■ [Ladies at a party caricatured by the Egyptians
60. Men carried home from a drinking party .
Page
18
18
18
26
23
25
26
26
27
29
30
31
32
32
33
33
34
35
35
36
36
36
38
39
40
41
41
42
43
43
44
45
45'
46
47
48
49
52
53
LIST OF WOODCUTS IN VOL. I.
IX
Woodcut
61. Dom nut, used for the head of a drill ,
62. Positions of Egyptians when seated on the ground
' [chairs ........
*65 )
a, ..' f Fauteuils painted in the tomb of King Remeses III.
66. Double and single chairs . . .
67. Stoiils on the principle of our camp-stools
68. Seat made of interlaced thongs .
69. Ditferent forms of chairs .
70. Other forms ; one is a kangaroo chair .
71. Stools
'' > Other stools, one with a leather cushion
74. Three-legged stools ....
75. Low stools .....
76. Ottomans from the tombs of Eemeses III.
77. Carpets or mats ....
78. A couch, head stool, and steps . .
79. Hound tables, one supported by a figure
80. Wooden table .....
81. Tables from the sculptures
8"' )
"■ [Wooden pillows, or head stools .
83. J
84. Caffass bedstead, and bier .
Vignette.
B. The modern shaddof, end of Chapter I.
56
58
59
rfiO
l61
62
63
64
64
65
65
66
66
67
67
68
69
69
70
■70
71
CHAPTER II.
Vignette
C. Pavilion of Remeses III. at Medeenet Haboo, Thebes .
Woodcut
85. An Egyptian gentleman driving in his curricle to a party
**86. A chariot with an umbrella ....
87. Military chief carried in a sort of palanquin.
88. Golden ewers and basins in the tomb of Remeses III.
89. A servant anointing a guest ....
90. Servants bringing necklaces of flowers
91. Wooden stand .....••
92. A case containing bottles supported on a stand
73
74
75
75
7"
78
78
79
80
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Woodcut
93. Offering wine to a guest ......
94. Harps, pipe, and flute, from a tomb near the Pyramids.
95. The harp and double pipe ......
96. Harp, guitar, and double pipe .....
97. Harp, and a smaller one of four chords
98. Harp, guitar, double pipe, lyre, and square tambourine .
99. Men and women singing to the harp, lyre, and double pipe
100. Harp and two guitars ......
101. Two guitars, a harp, and double pipe, and a woman clapping
her bands ......
102. The flute, two harps, and men singing
103. Two harps, and another instrument, probably with a jingling
sound .........
104. An unusual kind of instrument .....
105. Women beating tambourines and the darabooka drum -
106. Egyptian harper and blind choristers ....
107. The darabooka drum of modern Egypt
108. Cymbals
109. Striking the clappers and dancing ....
**110. Buffoons .........
111. Men dancing in the street to the sound of the drum
112. A military band .......
113. The trumpet ........
114. The drum ..... ...
115. Mode of slinging the drum . . . • .
116. A drum-stick ......■•
117. A drum and drum-sticks ......
*1 18 1
■ >Hai-pers in the tomb of Remeses III., called Brace's tomb
"118a) '^
119. Head of a harp from Thebes .....
1 20. Painted harp on a stand, a man clapping his hands, and a player
on the guitar ......
121. Minstrel standing while playing the harp
122. Hai-p raised on a stand, or support
123. Harp of the Paris Collection
124. Lyre ornamented with the head of an animal
125. Lyres played with and without the plectrum
126. Lyre in the Berlin Museum
127. Lyre of the Leyden Collection .
log 1
" ■ ITriangtdar mstruments ....
130. Other instruments .....
Page
81
85
86
87
87
88
89
89
90
91
92
93
93
95
98
99
101
102
103
104
105
105
106
107
107
fl08
(109
110
110
112
112
114
W5
116
116
117
118
119
LIST OF WOODCUTS IN VOL. I.
XI
Woodcut
131. A standing lyre
132. An instrument played as an accompaniment to the lyre
133. A light instrument borne on the shoulder
134. Instrument, differing from the harp, lyre, and guitar
■> Another kind of instrument of four strings
136./
137. Female playing the guitar.
138. Dancing while playing the guitai
139. Guitar supported by a strap
140. Instrument resembling the guitar
141. Flute-player, standing
142. Reed pipes found
143. A woman dancing while playing the double pipe
144. Sacred musicians
145. Sistrum .
146. Sistrum of unusual form
147. Sistrum in the British Museum
148. Model of a sistrum in the Berlin Museum
149 ]
. ' f Sistra in the Berlin Museum
150.'
151. Different attitudes in the dance
152. The Pirouette and other steps
153. Figure dances .
154. Men dancing alone .
155. Man dancing a solo to the sound of the hand
Vignette
D. The Palace-temple of Remeses II. at Thebes during the inun-
dation .....•••••
Page
1211
120
121
121
122
123
124
124
125
127
128
128
130
131
131
132
132
133
134
136
137
139
139
140
CHAPTER III.
Vignette
E. The two Colossi of Thebes during the inundation. . . 141
Woodcut
156 ) (142
.,_" (Parties of guests ^
158. A black and white slave waiting upon a lady at a party. . 144
159. Ladies talking about their earrings . . . . .145
160. Gold vases of the time of Thothmes III 147
161. Bags, generally containing gold dust, tied up and sealed . 148
162. Vases, with one and two handles ..... 149
163. Ornamented vases . • . • . • • .150
164. Richly ornamented vases . • . . . . .151
Xll
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Woodcut
165. Vases with the head of a bird and of a Typhonian monster
16P. Vases, jugs, drinking-cups.
167. Various vases, one of cut glass .
168. Bronze and other vases
169. Large bronze vase, like a caldron
170. Alabaster and porcelain vase
171. Vases of alabaster, porcelain,
ointment •
1 72. Bronze vase, with elastic cover
173. A glass bottle . .
_ ■ ^Ornamental carved boxes .
175. j
and gl
ass
>OrnamentaI wooden boxes
176, 177, 178, 179,\
180, 181, 182, 183./
1 84. A box, with lid carved also, belonging to the toilet table
185. Curious substitute for a hinge
186. Terra-cotta bottle, held on the thumb
187. Butcher cutting up an Ibex, another sharpening his knife on
SZGGi ••••••
Peculiar joint of meat . .
A head given to a beggar . . .
An ox and bird placed entire on the altar
,,* i The kitchen
)1 a)
188
*189
190,
191
19
192. Cooking geese and various joints. .
193. Drinking cups, or saucers .
1 94. A table brought in with the dishes on it
195. A cake of preserved dates .
196. A dinner party, of very early time
197.1
198.>Spoons . . . . .
199.1
200. Alabaster shell and spoon .
201. Bronze simpula ....
202. Figure of a mummy, brought to an Egyptian table
**203. Tumblers
204. Feats of agility ....
205. Playing at mora ....
206. Games of draughts and mora
**207. Draughtsmen {jigs. 3, 4, 5, lateli/ found)
208. Game of draughts ....
209. A game like a Greek kollabismos, a sort of " forfeits"
some for
holding
Page
152
154
155
1.56
156
157
157
158
158
159
{!
160
62
163
164
165
169
171
171
173
175, 176
178
180
181
181
182
183, 184
184
184
187
189
189
190
190
191
192
192
LIST OF WOODCUTS IN VOL. I..
XIU
Woodcut
2()9a Remeses III. playing at draughts
210. A game witli a hoop .....
•*2ll. Other games .......
*''2l2. Wooden gvimti hoards, of Dr. Abbott's Collection .
213. Dice found in Egypt ......
214. Wooden dolls .......
215. Children's toys. ......
216.1
217. >Gamesof ball .......
218.)
219. Balls, found
220. Men swinging women round by the arms
221. Game of men rising from the ground .
222. Game of throwing knives into a wooden block
223. Thimble rig . . • ...
224. Dwarfs and deformed persons in the service of grandees
225. Wrestling .......
226. Single stick, or cudgelling
227. Feats of raising weights .....
Boatmen fighting with the nebdol, or long pole
19.3
194
194
194
195
196
197
198, 199
BuUfiffhts
CHAPTEK IV.
Vignette
F. ViewofPhilae 212
\Voodcut
232. Hycena caught in a trap 213
233. Mode of carrying young animals . . . . .215
234. Gazelles and other animals kept in the preserves . . .216
235. Marking cattle 217
236. Huntsman bringing home game with coupled dogs . .219
237. Gazelle, porcupines, and hare, caught, and brought home . 219
238. Catching a gazelle with the lasso 220
239. Catching a wild ox with the lasso 220
240. Hunting with a lion 221
241. Shooting at the wild ox 222
242. Animals from the sculptures ...... 223
243. A chase in the desert .....•• 225
244. Monsters, or fabulous animals ...... 226
XIV
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Woodcut
245. Various dogs of Egypt
" 1 Various birds of Egypt
247.) °
~ ■ >A sportsman using the throw-stick
250. Fowling and fishing scene .
251. A gentleman fishing .
252. Attendant carrying a corbay whip
253. Spear used in the chase of the hippopotamus
254. A reel held by an attendant
255. The Trochilus
„i._'}-The name of "Egypt" in hieroglyphics
" ^'temblems ....
2o9.;
260. Various flowers from the sculptures
261. Offering ointment
262. Offering a figure of Truth .
263. Emblematic offerings
264. Offerings on the altar
265. Stands for bearing offerings
266. Joints placed on the altars, or the tables
267- Offering of incense .
268. Offering of incense and libation
269. Wine offered .
270. Vases used for libations
271. Offering of milk
**271a Shrine or ark .
272. One of the sacred boats or arks
273. Dedication of the /)_y/o?j of a temple
274. Sceptre of a Queen .
275. Tail, or sign of life .
276. " Lord of the assemblies " .
277. Bronze figure of Apis
278. Hieroglyphical name of Apis, — Hapi. (It is remarkable that
the Nile, and one of the Genii of Amenti, are also called Hapi)
Page
. 230
232, 233
1 235
1236
237
238
240
241
241
243
244
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
265
266
267
270
271
276
277
280
289
290
CHAPTER V.
Vignette
G. The Pyramids during the inundation, from near the Fork of
the Delta .........
302
LIST OF WOODCUTS IN VOL. I.
XV
Woodcut
279.
280.
281.
282
Princes and children, head-dress of
People throwing dust on their heads .
King and Queen offering .
Sacred offices held by women
283. Priests clad in the leopard skin .
284. Onions and other vegetables ; and figs in a
glyphic of " wife " .
285. Mode of tying up onions for some offerings
286. Dresses of priests ....
287. Alabaster pillow for the head
288. Allies of the Egyptians
Disciplined troops ....
Phalanx of heavy infantry
Egyptian standards ....
289.
290.
291.
292.
293.
294.
295.
296.
297.
298.
299.
Officers of the king's household .
Shields ......
Boss of the shield ....
Thong inside the shield for slinging it
Concave form of the shield
Grasping the spear while supporting the shield
Handle of the shield .
Trucklers of unusual form
The large shield
3.1
plode of stringing the bow
A guard worn on the wrist
;;}
Arrows made of reed
300.
301 . Bow of the Koofa
302. Egyptian bows
.303
304
305.
306. Spare arrows carried in the hand
307
308
309. Metal heads of arrows
310. Javelin and spear heads
3l0aSpear head
311. Heads of small javelins
312. Slingers .
313. Daggers in their sheaths
314. Stabbing an enemy .
315. Modeof wearing a dagge»
316. Dagger with its sheath
317. Another dagger
318. Axes and hatchets
basket, the
hiero-
311
315
317
318
320
323
324
334
335
338
339
341
343
344
345
346
346
347
347
347
348
349
.349
350
350
.351
352
352
353
356
356
356
357
358
359
359
360
360
361
XVI
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Woodcut
319. Battle axes
320. Pole-axe .
321. Maces
322. Curved stick or club .
323. Helmets or head pieces
*324. Corslets, with and without metal plates
*'324uPlates of scale armour with name of Sheshonk (Shishak)
325. Egyptian soldiers of different corps
326. The royal princes in their chariots
327. The son of King Kemeses with his charioteer
328. Whips
329. Whip suspended from the -wrist of the archer
330. Making the pole and other parts of a chariot
331. A war chariot with bow cases and complete furniture
332. Chariot of the Rot-u-n .....
333. Cutting leather and binding a car
334. Bending and preparing the woodwork of a chariot
335. Chariots in perspective, from a comparison of different sculptures 380
335 a An Egyptian car and horses in perspective .... 382
**336. A wheel and shafts 383
337. Singular instance of a four-wheel carriage .... 384
338. An Ethiopian princess travelling in a plaustrum, or car drawn
by oxen .... .... 385
339. Car at Florence 385
340. Use of the testudo ........ 388
341. Assault of a fort ........ 389
342. Some of the Asiatic enemies of the Egyptians . . .391
343. Carts of the Tokkari, at the time of their defeat . . . 392
344. Prisoners of Tirhaka ....... 396
345. Other enemies of the Egyptians. ..... 398
346. Phalanx of the Sheta (or Khita) with their fortified town,
surrounded by ditches, on a river, over which are bridges - 400
347. Other Asiatic and African enemies of the Egyptians . . 402
348. A body of archers drawing their bows .... 405
349. A guard at the gates of an encampment .... 407
350. A captive secured by a handcuff. ..... 410
351. War galky ; the sail pulled up during the action . . .412
352. Large boat with sail, apparently of the papyrus, a double mast,
and many oars . . . • . . . . . 414
353. Women of tke Rot-h-n sent to Egypt . , . . .416
354. Black slaves, with their women and children . . .417
355. Egyptian arms ........ 419
Page
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
376
376
377
378
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
OF
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Part of Cairo, showing ihe Mulkufs on the huuses of modem Kgj-pl.
CHAPTER I.
CHARACTER OF THE EGYPTIANS — ORIGINAL POPULATIONS SOCIAL LIFE —
HOUSES VILLAS FARMYARDS — GARDENS VINEYARDS — WINEPRESS
WINES BEEP. FURNITURE OF ROOMS CIIAIRS.
The monumental records and various works of art, and, above all.
the writings, of the Greeks and Romans, have made us acquainted
with their customs and their very thoughts ; and though the
literature of the Egvptians is unknown, their monuments, espt--
ciallv the paintings in the tombs, have afforded us an insight
into their mode of life scarcely to be obtained from those of any
other people. The influence that Egypt had in early times
on Greece gives to every inquiry respecting it an additional
interest ; and the frequent mention of the Egyptians in the liibltj
VOL. I. B
2 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. I.
connects them with the Hebrew records, of which many satis-
factory illustrations occur in the sculptures of Pharaonic times.
Their great antiqviity also enables us to understand the condition
of the world long before the era of written history ; all existing
monuments left by other people are comparatively modern ; and
the paintings in Egypt are the earliest descriptive illustrations of
the manners and customs of any nation.
It is from these that we are enabled to form an opinion of the
character of the Egyptians. They have been pronounced a
serious, gloomy people, saddened by the habit of abstruse specu-
lation ; but how far this conclusion agrees with fact will be
seen in the sequel. They were, no doubt, less lively than the
Greeks ; but if a comparatively late writer, Ammianus Marcel-
linus, may have remarked a " rather sad " expression, after they
had been for ages under successive foreign yokes, this can scarcely
be admitted as a testimony of their character in the early times
of their prosperity ; and though a sadness of expression might be
observed in the present oppressed population, they cannot be
considered a grave or melancholy people. Much, indeed, may
be learnt from the character of the modern Egyptians ; and not-
withstanding the infusion of foreign blood, particularly of the
Arab invaders, every one must perceive the strong resemblance
they bear to their ancient predecessors. It is a common error to
suppose that the conquest of a country gives an entirely new
character to the inhabitants. The immigration of a whole nation
taking possession of a thinly-peopled country, will have this
effect, when the original inhabitants are nearly all driven out by
the new-comers ; but immigration has not always, and conquest
never has, for its object the destruction or expulsion of the native
population ; they are found useful to the victors, and as necessary
for them as the cattle, or the productions of the soil. Invaders
are always immerically inferior to the conquered nation — even to
the male population ; and, when the women are added to the
number, the majority is greatly in favour of the original race,
and they must exercise immense influence on the character of
the rising generation. The customs, too, of the old inhabitants
Chap. 1. CHARACTER OF THE EGYPTIANS. 3
are very readily adopted by the new-comers, especially when
they are found to suit the climate and the peculiarities of the
country they have been formed in ; and the habits of a small mass
of settlers living in contact with them fade away more and mure
with each successive generation. So it has been in Egypt ; and,
as usual, the conquered people bear the stamp of the ancient
inhabitants rather than that of the Arab conquerors.
Of the various institutions of the ancient J^gyptians, none are
more interesting than those which relate to their social life ; and
when we consider the condition of other countries in the early
ages when they flourished,, from the 10th to the 20th century
before our era, we may look with respect on the advancement
they had then made in civilization, and acknowledge the benefits
they conferred upon mankind during their career. For like
other peoj)le, they have had their part in the great scheme of
the world's development, and their share of usefulness in the
destined progress of the human race ; for countries, like indi-
viduals, have certain qualities given them, which, differing from
ihose of their predecessors and contemporaries, are intended in
due season to perform their requisite duties. The interest felt
in the P>gyptians is from their having led the way, or having
been the first people we know of who made any great progress,
in the arts and manners of civilization ; whicli, for the period
wlien they lived, was very creditable, and far beyond tliat of
other kingdoms of the world. Nor can we fail to remark the
difference between them and their Asiatic rivals, the Assyrians,
who, even at a much later period, had the great defects of Asiatic
cruelty — flaying alive, impaling, and torturing their prisoners ; as
the Persians, Turks, and other Orientals have done to the present
century ; the reproach of whicli cannot be extended to the ancient
P^g^'ptians. Being the dominant race of that age, they necessarily
had an influence on others with whom they came in contact :
and it is by these mejuis that civilization is advanced througii its
various stages ; each people striving to improve on the lessons
derived from a neighbour whose institutions they apjireciate, or
consider beneficial to themselves. It was thus that the active
B 2
4 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. I.
mind of the talented Greeks sought and improved on the lessons
derived from other countries, especially from Egypt ; and though
the latter, at the late period of the 7th century b. c, had lost its
greatness and the prestige of superiority among the nations of
the world, it vfus still the seat of learning and the resort of
studious philosophers ; and the abuses consequent on the fall of an
empire had not yet brought about the demoralization of after times.
The early part of Egyptian monumental history is coeval with
the arrivals of Abraham and of Joseph, and the p]xodus of the
Israelites ; and we know from the Bible what was the state of the
world at that time. But then, and apparently long before, the
habits of social life in Egypt were already what we find them to
have been during the most glorious period of their career ; and
as the people had already laid aside their arms, and military men
only carried them when on service, some notion may be had of
the very remote date of Egyptian civilization. In the treatment
of women they seem to have been very far advanced beyond
other wealthy communities of the same era, having usages very
similar to those of modern Europe ; and such was the respect
shown to women that precedence was given to them over men,
and the wives and daughters of kings succeeded to the throne
like the male branches of the royal family. Nor was this privi-
lege rescinded, even though it had more than once entailed upon
them the troubles of a contested succession : foreign kings often
having claimed a right to the throne througli marriage with an
Egyptian princess. It was not a mere influence that they pos-
sessed, wliich women often acquire in the most arbitrary Eastern
communities ; nor a political importance accorded to a particular
individual, like that of the Soltana Valideli, the Queen Mother,
at Constantinople ; it was a right acknowledged by law, both in
private and public life. They knew that unless women were
treated with respect, and made to exercise an influence over
'ociety, the standard of public opinion would soon be lowered,
and the manners and morals of men would suffer ; and in acknow-
ledging this, they pointed out to women the very responsible
duties they had to perform to the community.
Chap. I. SOCIAL LIFE. 5
It has been said that the Egyptian priests were only allowed
to have one wife, wliile the rest of the community had a^ many as
thev chose ; but. besides the improbability of such a license, the
testimony of the monuments accords witli Herodotus in disproving
the statement, and each individual is represented in his tomb with
a single consort. Their mutual affection is also indicated by the
fond manner in whicli tliey are seated together, and by the ex-
pressions of endearment they use to each other, as well as to
their children. And if further proof were wanting to show tlieir
respect for social ties, we may mention the conduct of Pharaoh,
in the case of the supposed sister of Abraham, standing in re-
markable contrast to the habits of most princes of those and many
subsequent ages.
From their private life great insight is obtained into their cha-
racter and customs ; and their liousehold arrangements, the style
of their dwellings, their amusements, and their occupations,
explain their habits ; as their institutions, mode of government,
arts, and military knowledge illustrate their history, and tlieir
relative position among the nations of antiquity. In their form
and arrangement, the houses were made to suit the climate,
modified according to their advancement in civilization ; and we
are often enabled to trace in their abodes some of tiie primitive
habits of a people, long after they have been settled in towns,
and have adopted tlie manners of wealthy communities ; as the
tent may still be traced in the houses of the Turks, and the small
original wooden chamber in the mansions and temples of ancient
Greece.
As in all warm climates, the poorer classes of Egyptians lived
much in the open air ; and the houses of the rich were constructed
to be cool throughout the summer ; currents of refreshing air
being made to circulate freely through them by the judicious
arrangement of the passages and courts. Corridors, supported
on columns, gave access to the different apartments througii a
succession of shady avenues and areas, with one side open to the
air, as in our cloisters ; and even small detached houses had an
open court in the centre, planted as a garden with palms and
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
Other trees. MuUufs. or wooden wind-sails, were also fixed over
thenerraces of the upper story, facing the prevalent and cool
X.W. wind, which was conducted down their sloping boards
.nto the interior of the house. They were exactly similar to those
in the modern houses of Cairo ; and some few were double,
facing in opposite directions.
House with a Mul^:nf.
Tliebes.
The houses were built of crude brick, stuccoed and painted
with all the combinations of bright colour, in which the Egj^ptians
delighted ; and a highly decorated mansion had numerous courts,
and architectural details derived from the temples. Over the door
was sometimes a sentence, as '• the good house ;" or the name of
a king, under whom the owner probably held some office ; many
other symbols of good omen were also put up, as at the entrances
of modern Egyptian houses ; and a visit to some temple gave as
good a claim to a record, as the pilgrimage to ]\Iekkeh at the
present day. Poor people were satisfied with very simple tene-
ments ; their wants being easily supplied, both as to lodging and
ClIAI'. I.
HOUSES OF POOR AND KICH.
\m\\\\\\\\\\\\\\lf///////////////
j:
1
2. Over the door is " The good house."
3. Doorway, with a king's name.
food ; and their liouse consisted of four walls, with a flat roof
of palm-branches laid across a split date-tree as a beam, and
covered with mats plastered over with a thick coating of mud.
It had one door, and a few small windows closed by wooden
shutters. As it scarcely ever rained, the mud roof was not
washed into the sitting room ; and this cottage rather answered
as a shelter from the sun, and as a closet for their goods, than for
the ordinary purpose of a house in other couYitries. Indeed at
night the owners slept on the roof, during the greater part of the
year ; and as most of their work was done out of doors, thev
might easily be persuaded that a liouse was far less necessary for
them than a tomb. To convince the rich of this ultra-philo-
sophical sentiment was not so easy ; at least the practice differed
from the theory ; and though it was promulgated among all
the Egyptians, it did not prevent the priests and other grandees
from living in very luxurious abodes, or enjoying tlie good
things of this world; and a display of wealth was found to be
useful in maintaining their power, and in securing the obedience
of a credulous people. The worldly possessions of the priests
were therefore very extensive, and if they imposed on themselves
occasional habits of abstemiousness, avoided certain kinds of
unwholesome food, and performed many mysterious observances,
they were amply repaid by the improvement of their health,
THE ANCIEIST EGYPTIANS.
CuAP. !•
"ad by the influence they thereby acquired. Superior intelligence
enabled them to put their own construction on regulations
emanating from their sacred body, with the convenient persua-
sion that what suited them did not suit others ; and the profane
vulgar were expected to do, not as the priests did, but as they
taught them to do.
In their plans the houses of towns, like the villas in the
country, varied according to the caprice of the builders. The
ground-plan, in some of the former, consisted of a number oi
chambers on three sides of a court, which was often planted with
trees. Others consisted of two rows of rooms on either side of
a long passage, with an entrance-court from the street ; and
others were laid out in chambers round a central area, similar to
LLLLLLy
the Roman Impluviiim, and paved with stone, or containing a
few trees, a tank, or a fountain, in its centre. Sometimes, though
rarely, a flight of steps led to the front door from the street.
Houses of small size were often connected together, and formed
the continuous sides of streets ; and a court-yard was common
to several dwellings. Others of a humbler kind consisted merely
of rooms opening on a narrow passage, or directly on the street.
These had only a basement storj', or ground-floor ; and few
houses exceeded two stories above it. They mostly consisted of
one upper floor ; and though Diodorus speaks of the lofty houses
in Thebes four and five stories high, the paintings show that
few had three, and the largest seldom four, including as he
does the basement-story. Even tlie greater portion of the house
was confined to a first-floor, with an additional story in one part,
on which was a terrace covered by an awning, or a light roof
supported on columns (as in Woodcut 25). This served for the
Chap. I.
ARRANGEMENT OF HOUSES.
lad es of the family to sit at work in during the day, and here
the master nf the house often slept at nif;ht during the summer,
or took his .v/ci/a in the afternoon. Some had a tower wliich rose
even above the terrace.
The first-floor was what the
Italians call the ''piano nobilr ;"
the ground rooms being chiefly ^__
used for stores, or as offices, of
which one was set apart for the
porter, and another for visiters isp
coming on business. Sometimes
besides tlie parlour were receiv-
ing apartments on the base-
meut-story, but guests were generally entertained on the first-
floor ; and on this were the sleeping roomS also, except where the
house was of two or three stories. The houses of wealthy citizens
often covered a considerable space, and either stood directly
upon the street, or a short way back, within an open court ; and
some large mansions were detached, and had several entrances
on two or three sides. Before the door was a porch supported on
two colimms. decked with banners or ribands, and larger porticos
had a double row of columns, wi h statues between them.
Other mansions had a ight of steps leading to a raised plat-
form, with a doorway between two towers, not unlike those before
Thebes.
/
Porch. Tel el Amarii'i.
9.
Porch. Thcbet an Tel e Amama.
iU
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Cha?. I.
'WW
1
T
10.
Entrance to a house.
Tel el Amama.
the temples. A line of trees ran parallel to the front of the
house ; and to prevent injuries from cattle, or any accident, the
stems were surrounded by a low wall, pierced with square holes
to admit the air.* This custom of planting trees about town
houses was common also at Eome.
The height of the portico was about twelve or fifteen feet,
just exceeding that of the cornice of the door, which was only
raised by its threshold above the level of the ground. On either
side of the main entrance was a smaller door, which stood at an
equal distance between it and the side-wall, and was probably
intended for the servants, or those who came on business. On
entering b}' the porch you passed into an open court {aula, or
hall), containing a mdndara, or receiving room, for visiters.
This building, supported by columns, decorated with banners,
v.as closed only at the lower part by inter-columnar panels, over
which a stream of cool air was admitted, and protection from the
rays of the sun was secured by an awning that covered it. On the
opposite side of the court was another door, the approach to tlie
mdndara from the interior ; and the master of the house, on the
announcement of a stranger, came in that way to receive him.
Three doors led from this court to another of larger dimensions,
which was ornamented with avenues of trees, and communicated
on the right and left with the interior of the house ; and this,
like most of the large courts, had a back entrance through a central
♦ .\s in Woodcut 11, Jig. 2, c.
Chap. I. PLANS OF HOUSES. li
and lateral gateway. The arrangement of the interior was much
the same on eitlier side of the court : six or more chambers,
whose doors faced those of the opposite set, opening on a corridor
supported by columns on the right and left of an area, which was
shaded by a double row of trees.
At the upper end of one of these areas was a sitting-room,
whicli faced tlie door leading to the great court ; and over this
and the other chambers were the apartments of the upper-story
Here were also two small gateways towards the street.
Another plan consisted of a court, with the usual avenue of
trees, on one side of which were several sets of chambers opening
on corridors or passages, but witliout any coloimade before the
doors. The receiving room looked upon the court, and from
it a row of columns led to the private sitting apartment, which
stood isolated in one of the passages, near to a door communi-
cating with the side chambers : and. in its position, with a corridor
or porch in front, it bears a striking resemblance to the '' summer
parlour" of Eglon, king of IMoab,* "which he had for himself
alone," and where he received Ehud the Israelite stranger. And
the flight of Ehud " through the porch," after he had shut and
locked the door of the parlour, shows its situation to have been
very similar to some of these isolated apartments in the houses,
or villas, of the ancient Pllgyptians, The sidp. chambers were
frequently arranged on either side of a corridor, others faced
towards the court, and others were only separated from the outer
wall by a long passage.
In the distribution of the apartments munerous and different
modes were adopted, according to circumstances; in general.
however, the large mansions seem to have consisted of a court
and several corridors, with rooms leading from them, not unlike
many of those now built in Oriental and tropical countries.t
The houses in most of the Egyptian towns are quite destroyed,
leaving few traces of tlieir plans, or even of their sites ; but
sufficient remains of some at Thebes, at Tel el Araarna, and other
* Judges, iii. 20. * Woodcut WJig. 1.
Chap. I.
GllAN ARIES, SMALL HOUSES.
15
places, to enable us, with tlie help of the sculptures, to ascertain
their form a\id appearance.
Granaries were also laid out in a very regular manner, and
varied of course in plan as much as tlie houses, to which
there is reason to believe they were frequently attached, even in
the towns ; and they were sometimes only separated from tlie
house by an avenue of trees.
Some small houses consisted merely of a court, and three or
four store rooms on the ground-floor, with a single chamber
above, to whicli a flight of steps led from the court; but they
were probably only met with in the country, and resembled some
still found in the fc/ld/i villages of modern Egypt.* Very similar
to these was the model of a house now in the British Museum.f
which solely consisted of a court-yard and three small store-room-;
\ „ . „. — ,
-«imi'
12.
Fig. 1 . Model of a small house.
Fig. 2 shows how the door opened and w.is secured.
From Thebes.
British. Afuseum.
on the ground-floor, with a staircase leading to a room belonging
to the storekeeper, which was furnished wilh a narrow window
or aperture opposite the door, rather intended for the purposes
of ventilation than to admit the light. In tlie court a woman
was represented making bread, as is sometimes done at the i)re-
seiit day in Eg}'pt, in tlie open air ; and tlie store-rooms were
full of (ji'iiiii.
Woodcut 1 1 , Ji'j. 4.
t Woodcuts 12, 13.
14
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. 1.
Other small houses in towns consisted of two or three stories
above the ground-floor. They had no court, and stood close
together, covering a small space, and high in proportion to their
base, like many of those at Karnak. The lower part had
merely the door of entrance and some store-rooms, over which
were a first and second floor, each with three windows on the front
and side, and above these an attic without windows, and a stair-
case leading to a terrace on the flat roof. The floors were laid
on rafters, the end of which projected slightly from the walls like
dentils ; and the courses of brick were in waving or concave lines,
as in the walls of an enclosure at Dayr el Medeeneh in Thebes.
The windows of the first-floor had a sort of mullion dividing them
into two lights each, with a transom above ; and the upper
windows were filled with trellis-work, or cross bars of wood,
as in many Turkish harems. A model of a house of this kind
is also in the British Museum. But the generality of Egyptian
houses were far less regular in their plan and elevation ; and the
13. Showing the interior of tlie court, aiid upper chamber in the same.
Chap. 1.
DOOllS, HINGES, KEYS.
15
usual disregard for synuuetry is generally observable in the
houses even of towns.
The doors, both of the entrances and of the inner apart-
ments, were freciuently stained to imitate foreign and rare woods.
They were either of one or two valves, turning on pins of metal.
Q >*
Fig. 1. The upper pin, on which the door turned.
Fig. 2. Lower piji.
British Museum.
'I^-
t-
and were secured within by a liar or bolts. Some of these bronze
pins have been discovered in the tombs of Thebes. They were
fcustened to the wood with nails of the rj^
same metal, whose round heads served agp ^^^
also as an ornament, and the upper one
had a projection at the back, in order to
prevent the door striking against the
wall. We also find in the stone lintels
and floor, behind the thresholds of the
tombs and temples, the holes in which
they turned, as well as those of the bolts
and bars, and the recess for receiving the
opened valves. The folding doors had
bolts in the centre, sometimes above as
well as below : a bar was placed across
from one wall to the other ; and in many
instances wooden locks secured them by passing over the centre.
at the junction of the two folds. For greater security they were
occasionally sealed with a mass of clay, as is proved by some
tombs found closed at Thebes, by the sculptures, and in the
account given by Herodotus of Rhampsinitns's treasury.
Keys were made of bronze or iron, and consisted of a long
A fijlding-door.
16
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
^^
1
-I
1
16.
'Showing how the doors were fastened.
IIoiv and Thebes.
straight shank, about five inches in length, with three or more
projecting teeth ; others had a nearer resemblance to the wards
17.
Iron key.
From Thebes.
of modern keys, with a short shank about an inch long ; and
some resembled a common ring with the wards at its back.
These are probably of Roman date. The earliest mention of a
key is in Judges (iii. 23-25), when Ehud having gone " through
the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him and locked
them," Eglon's " servants took a key and opened them."
The doorways, like those in the temjjles, were often surmounted
by the Egyptian cornice ; others were variously decorated, and
some, represented in the tombs, were surrounded with a variety
of ornaments, as usual richly painted. These last, though some-
times found at Thebes, were more general about Memphis and
the Delta ; and two good instances of them are preserved at the
British Museum, brought from a tomb near the Pyramids.
Chap. 1.
DOORWAYS.
17
iiniliilliWMlllM
i<^' ■jy-Si'Z'^ I ^\- j J ' • ' ■!•'
x.^'fc-<-^'TCVJ« ^ --vg-y^'
I'l
ii.
IZ.
l-^.
Painted on a cofRn at Thebes.
19.
Tliehes.
Even at the early period •when the l\raniids were built, the doors
were of one or two valves ; and both those of the rooms and the
entrance doors opened inwards, contrary to the custom of the
Greeks, who were consequently obliged to strike on the inside
WT V^
21.
18
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
of the Street-door before they opened it, in order to warn persons
passing by ; and the Romans were forbidden to make it open
outward without a special permission. The floors were of stone,
or a composition made of lime or other materials ; but in hum-
bler abodes they were formed of split date-tree beams, arranged
close together or at intervals, with planks or transverse layers of
22.
Tomb near the Pyramids. 23.
Thebes.
palm branches over them, covered with mats and a coating of mud.
Many roofs were vaulted, and built like the rest of the house of
crude brick ; and not only have arches been found of that material
dating in the 16th century before our era, but vaulted granaries
appear to be represented
of much earlier date.
Bricks, indeed, led to
the invention of the arch ;
the want of timber in
Egypt having pointed
out the necessity of some
substitute for it.
Wood was imported
in great quantities ; deal
and cedar were brought
from Syria; and rare
woods were part of the
r':?^»^i
24.
Thebes.
CiiAP. I. K.VKE WOODS, W.Vr.LS. ];|
tribute inii)osed on foreign nations conquered by the Pharaohs.
And so highly were these appreciated for ornamental purposes,
tliat painted imitations were made for poorer persons who could not
afford them ; and the panels, windows, doors, boxes, and various
kinds of woodwork, were frequently of ciieap deal or sycamore,
stained to resemble the rarest foreign woods. And the remnants
of them found at Thebes show that these imitations were clever
substitutes for the reality. I'2ven coffins were sometimes made of
foreign wood ; and many are found of cedar of Lebanon. The
value of foreign woods also suggested to the P^gyptians the pro-
cess of veneering ; and this was one of the arts of their skilful
cabinet-makers.
The ceilings were of stucco, richly painted with various
devices, tasteful both in their form and the aiTangonieut of the
colours; among the oldest of wliich is the Guilloche, often
mis-cjdled the Tuscan or Greek border.
Both in the interior and exterior of their houses the walls
were sometimes portioned out into large panels of one uniform
colour, tlush with the surface, or recessed, (as in Woodcuts 2.3
and 30,) not very unlike those at Pompeii ; and they were red.
yellow, or stained to resemble stone or wood. It seems to
have been the introduction of this mode of ornament into Koman
houses that excited the indignation of Vitruvius ; who says that
in old times they used red paint sparingly, like physic, though
now whole walls are covered over with it.
Figures were also introduced on the blank walls in the sitting-
rooms, or scenes from domestic life, surrounded by ornamental
borders, and surmounted by deep cornices of fiowers and various
devices richly painted ; and no people appear to have been more
fond of using flowers on every occasion. In their domestic archi-
tecture they formed the chief ornament of the mouldings ; and
every visiter received a bouquet of real flowers, as a token of
welcome on entering a house. It was the pipe and coffee of the
modern 1 Egyptians ; and a guest at a jjarty was not oidy jiresentcd
with a lotus, or some other flower, but had a chaplet jdaced
round his head, and anotlver round his neck ; which led the
c 2
20
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. 1.
Koman poet to remark the '• many chaplets on the foreheads " of
the Egyptians at their banquets. Everywhere flowers abounded ;
they were formed into wreaths and festoons, they decked the
stands that supported the vases in the convivial chamber, and
..jrowned the wine-bowl as well as the servants who bore the
cup from it to the assembled guests.
Besides the painted panels there were other points of resem-
blance to Pompeian taste in the Egyptian houses ; particularly the
elongated colunms sometimes attaclied to tlie building, sometimes
painted on the walls, which were derived by the Greeks either
from Egypt or from Asia. Their long slender shafts were made
to reach the whole way from the ground to the verj' roof of
lHliHIII!ll((im(((UH(IJ((miinf(nil(i(mri(rfi(niii((<i777
2").
A Painted Hoiise.
Thehes.
the house, in utter defiance of proportion or the semblance of
utility ; performing no more office than many of the pillars and
half columns which, having nothing to support, may be said to
hang up against the fronts of our modern houses, with two tiers
of windows, like pictures, in the vacant space between them.
And though in their temples th- horizontal line predominated.
(JuAi-. I. \ LKTlCAl. USE. 21
as ill Greece, the ICgyptiaiis were not averse to the contrast of
the vertical with it. which tlicy managed by means of tlie long
line of their lofty pyramidal towers, and of their obeli-sks; and
indeed in the lengthy columns that extended up the whole front ol
their houses they may claim the first introduction of the vertical
principle. This was afterwards adopted by tlie Komans also ;
and is very obvious in their arches of triumph, where tiie
column, rising from the ground on a pedestal, extends the Avhole
way up the front, forces the entablature to advance, and break
its uniform straight course in order to accord with the capital.
and is surmounted by a statue or a projecting attic, extending to
the summit of the edifice.
The same slender columns, or *• reeds for columns," considered
so inconsistent by Vitruvius, found their way into the houses
of Rome : and we see them painted in those of Pompeii, as well
as the '^ buildings standing on candelabra," he equally condemns.
Incongruous they certainly were, having been merely called
in from another and pro])er ofiice, in order to assist in developing
a new element of architecture ; which long afterwards intro-
duced numerous vertical lines, in the form of towers, minarets,
and other lofty edifices, that now rise above our roofs, and give
so much variety to the external aspect of modern Kuroj)eaM
and Saracenic towns. This contrast was wanting in the low and
verv' unifurm outline of Greek buildings, scarcely relieved by
the triangular pediment of a temple ; for, however beautiful
e;\ch monument itself, a Greek city was singularly deficient in
the comliination of the vertical with the horizontal line. But
the endeavour to olitain this effect at IJome. by isolated columns
bearing a statue, which towered above the roofs, was not such
as taste could justify ; for we may well condenm the inappro-
priateness of extracting from a temple one of its legitimate mem-
bers, and of magnifying it to an extravagant height ; and the same
Roman poverty of invention, and inapplicableness. were shown in
this as in the maimed " truncated column," called upon to support
a bust in lieu of its own head. Nor can any justification be found
for the erection of monstrous colossi, such as Eg)pt, Greece, and
Rome produced ; and we are now happily freed from the dilenmia.
22 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. I.
of exaggerating what ought to be limited to its proper dimen-
sions, by the resources of modern architecture, whenever we seek
the harmonious contrast of vertical and horizontal lines.
The windows of Egyptian dwellings had merely wooden shut-
ters of one or two valves, turning on pins ; and these, like tlie
whole building, were painted. The openings were small, because
where little light is admitted little heat penetrates ; coolness was
the great requisite, and in the cloudless sky of Egypt there was
no want of light. And though, as in most of our modern houses,
the windows were little more than square holes, unrelieved by
ornamental mouldings, the Egyptians did not spoil the external
appearance of the house by making them of unreasonable size,
in order to admit the light, and then inconsistently do all they
possibly could to exclude it by numerous dust-catching hangings,
such as are inflicted on innocent Englishmen by tasteless and
interested upholsterers.
The palace of a king was generally of more durable materials
than a private house, and, like the temple to which it was often
attached, was of stone, as at Medeenet Haboo in Thebes. It
was then placed at the outer end of the avenue that led to the
sacred building ; and the prir.cipal apartments stood, in two
stories, immediately over the gateway, through which all the
grand processions passed towards the temple. The rest of the
building extended a considerable distance on the right and left
before this gateway, forming an outer approach from two lodges
at the very entrance, occupied by the guards and porters. Some
of the chambers looked down upon this passage ; others faced
in opposite directions ; and the whole building was crowned
with battlements, like the walls of fortified towns. The apart-
ments were not large, being only 14 feet long by 12 feet 8 inches
in breadth, and 13 feet 6 inches in height ; the walls being 5 to
6 feet thick were a protection against the heat, and currents of
air circulated freely through them from opposite windows. The
walls were ornamented with subjects in low relief, or in intaglio,
representing tlie king and liis household, with various ornamental
devices, particularly the lotus and other flowers.
Pavilions were also built in a similar style, though on a smaller
Chap. I.
PAVILIONS.
23
scale, in various parts of the country, and in the foreign districts
tlirough which the Egyptian armies passed, for the use of the
King; and some private houses occasionally imitated these small
castles, by substituting for the usual parapet wall and cornice
the battlements that crowned them, and which were intended
to represent Egyptian shields. The roofs of all their iiouses,
V
1
26.
From the Sculptures at Thebes.
whether in the town or country, were flat, like those of tiie
modern houses of Cairo, and there (as at the present day) the
women often held long conversations with their neighbours on
the scandal and gossip of the day. IMany a curious subject was
doubtless discussed at these animated meetings, and report affirms
that some modern Cairenc stories have been founded on those
recorded of I'haraonic times, one of which is thus related.
A man, digging in his vineyard, having found a jar full of
gold, ran home with joy to announce his good fortune to his
wife ; but as he reflected on the way, that women could not
always be trusted with secrets, and that he might lose a treasure
which, of right, belonged to the King, he thought it better
first to test her discretion. As soon therefore as he had entered
the house he called her to him, and, saying he had something of
great importance to tell her, asked if she was sure she could
24 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. I.
keep a secret. " Oh, yes," was the ready answer ; " when did you
ever know me betray one ? V»'hat is it ? " " Well, then, —
but you are sure you won't mention it ? " " Have I not told you
so ? why be so tiresome ? what is it ? " " Now, as you promise
me, I will tell you. A most singular thing happens to me ;
every morning I lay an egg ! " at the same time producing one
from beneath his cloak. '• What ! an egg ! extraordinary ! "
" Yes, it is indeed : but mind you don't mention it." '' Oh, no,
I shall say nothing about it, I promise you." " No ; I feel sure
you won't ; " and, so saying, he left the house. No sooner gone
than his wife ran up to the terrace, and finding a neighbour on
the adjoining roof, she beckoned to her, and, with great caution,
said, " Oh, my sister, such a curious thing happens to my hus-
band ; but you are sure you won't tell anybody ? " " No, no ;
what is it? Do tell me." " Every morning he lays ten eggs I "
" What ! ten eggs ! " " Yes ; and he has shown them to me ;
is it not strange ? but mind you say nothing about it : " and away
she went again down stairs. It was not long before another
woman came up on the next terrace, and the story was told in the
same way by the wife's friend, with a similar promise of seci'ecy,
only with the variation of twenty instead of ten eggs ; till one
neighbour after another, to whom the secret was intrusted, had
increased them to a hundred. It was not long before the husband
heard it also, and the supposed egg-layer, learning how his story
had spread, was persuaded not to risk his treasure by trusting his
wife with the real secret.
The villas of the Egyptians were of great extent, and contained
spacious gardens, watered by canals communicating with the
Nile. They had large tanks of water in different parts of the
garden, which served for ornament, as well as for irrigation
when the Nile was low ; and on these the master of the house
occasionally amused himself and his friends by an excursion in a
pleasure-boat towed by his servants. They also enjoyed the
diversion of angling and spearing fish in the ponds within their
grounds, and on these occasions they were generally accompanied
by a friend, or one or more members of their family. Particular
Chap. I.
VILLAS, GARDENS.
■25
^
27.
Painting in a Tomb at Tbebes.
care was always bestowed upon the garden, and their great fond-
ness for flowers is shown by the number they always cultivated,
OS well as by the women of the family or the attendants pre-
26
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. 1.
senting bouquets to the master of the house and his friends when
they walked there.
The house itself was sometimes ornamented with propyla
and obelisks, like the temples themselves ; it is even possible
that part of the building may have been consecrated to reli-
gious purposes, as the chapels of other countries, since we find
a priest engaged in presenting offerings at the door of the
inner chambers ; and, indeed, were it not for the presence of
the women, the form of the garden, and the style of the porch,
we should feel disposed to consider it a temple rather than a
place of abode. The entrances of large villas were generally
through folding-gates, standing between lofty towers, as at the
courts of temples, with a small door at each side ; and others
had merely folding-gates, with the jambs surmounted by a cornice.
1
1
?
1
^
28.
Gateways.
Tel el Amarna.
One general wall of circuit extended round the premises, but the
courts of the house, the garden, the offices, and all the other parts
of the villa had each their separate enclosure. The walls were
usually built of crude brick, and, in damp places, or when within
IHMIMtMMMr
I
IIMill
^iUUHUil
Jis- 1.
29.
Tel el Amarna and Tliehec.
S'^
-V
^
V
^ s
n.
f\
<^^
c
S
o
•o
w^^^''^'^
26 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. 1.
reach of the inundation, the lower part was strengthened by a
basement of stone. They were sometimes ornamented with
panels and grooved lines, generally stuccoed, and the summit was
crowned either with Egyptian battlements, the usual cornice, a
row of spikes in imitation of spear-heads, or with some fancy
ornament.
The plans of the villas varied according to circumstances, but
their general arrangement is sufficiently explained by the paint-
ings. They were surrounded by a high wall, about tlie middle
of which was the main or front entrance, with one central and
two side gates, leading to an open walk shaded by rows of
trees. Here were spacious tanks of water, facing the doors of
the right and left wings of the house, between which an avenue
led from the main entrance to what may be called the centre
of the mansion. After passing the outer door of the right wing,
you entered an open court with trees, extending quite round
a nucleus of inner apartments, and having a back entrance
communicating with the garden. On the right and left of this
court were six or more store-rooms, a small receiving or waiting
room at two of the corners, and at the other end the staircases
which led to tlie upper story. Both of the inner facades were
furnislied witli a corridor, supported on columns, with similar
towers and gateways. The interior of this wing consisted of
twelve rooms, two outer and one centre court, communicating by
folding gates ; and on either side of this last was the main en-
trance to the rooms on the ground-floor, and to the staircases lead-
ing to the ujjper story. At the back were three long rooms, and a
gateway opening on the garden, which, besides flowers, contained
a variety of trees, a summer-house, and a large tank of water.
The arrangement of the left wing was different. The front
gate led to an open court, extending the whole breadth of the
facade of the building, and backed by the wall of the inner part.
Central and lateral doors thence communicated with another
court, surrounded on three sides by a set of rooms, and behind it
was a corridor, upon which several other chambers opened.
This wing had no back entrance, and, standing isolated, the
ClIAT. 1.
WALLS OF EGYl'TLVN liLlLDLMi.
2\)
30
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I
outer court extended entirely round it ; and a succession of door-
ways communicated from the court with different sections of the
centre of the house, where the rooms, disposed like those already
described, around passages and corridors, served partly as sitting
apartments, and partly as storerooms.
The stables for the horses, and the coach-houses for the travel-
ling chariots and carts, were in the centre, or inner part of the
1
1^
S
s
CI
H— ^^
J
— '^=M
R^
^
J
J
—
J
J
J
=1
J — ii=i!
U^ — ^di
Chap. I.
GllANAlilES.
31
buildinf!;; but the farm-yard where the cattle were kept stood at
some distance from the house, and corresponded to the depart-
ment known by the Romans under the name of rmtica. Tliough
enclosed separately, it was within the general wall of circuit,
which surrounded the land attached to the villa ; and a canal,
bringing water from the ri\'er, skirted it, and extended along the
back of the grounds. It consisted of two parts : the sheds for
housing the cattle, which stood at the upper end, and tlie yard,
where rows of rings were fixed, in order to tie them while
feeding in the day-time ; and men always attended, and fre-
quently fed them with the hand.
The granaries were also apart from the house, and were en-
closed within a separate wall ; and some of the rooms in which
they housed the grain appear to have had vaulted roofs. These
32. Rooms for housing the grain, apparently vaulted. Beni Hassan.
were filled through an aperture near tlie top, to wliich the men
ascended by steps, and the grain when wanted was taken out
from a door at the base.
The superintendence of tlie house and grounds was intrusted
to stewards, who regulated the tillage of the land, received what-
ever was derived from tlie sale of the produce, overlooked the
returns of the quantity of cattle or stock upon the estate,
settled all the accounts, and condemned the delinquent peasants
to the bastinado, or any punishment they might deserve. To one
32
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
ii
33. — Granary, showing how the grain was put in, and that the doors a b were intended
for taking it out. Thebes.
were intrusted the affairs of the house, answering to '" the ruler,"
" overseer," or " steward of Joseph's house " (Gen. xxxix. 5 ;
xliii. 16, 19; xliv. 1); others "superintended the granaries,"
the vineyard (comp. Blatth. xx. 8), or the culture of the fields ;
and the extent of their duties, or the number of those employed,
depended on the quantity of land, or the will of its owner.
34.
3 4 Jig. 1 5 6
Steward (fig. 1) overlooking the tillage of the lands.
Thebes.
The mode of laying out their gardens was as varied as that of
the houses ; but in all cases they appear to have taken particular
care to command a plentiful supply of water, by means of reser-
voirs and canals. Indeed, in no country is artificial irrigation
more required than in the valley of the Nile ; and, from the cir-
cumstance of the water of the inundation not being admitted into
the gardens, they depend throughout the year on the supply
obtained from wells and tanks, or a neighbouring canal.
CllAP. I.
IRRIGATION.
33
The mode of irrigation adopted by the ancient Egyptians was
exceedingly simple, being merely the sIiaddof,or pole and bucket
of the present day ; and, in many instances, men were employed
to carry the water in pails, suspended by a wooden yoke they
bore ui)OTi their shoulders. The same yoke was employed for
35. Men watering the ground with pots of water. Sent Hassan
carrpng other things, as boxes, baskets containing game and
poultry, or whatever was taken to market ; and every trade
seems to have used it for this purpose, from the potter and the
brick-maker, to the carpenter and the shipwright.
The wooden bar or yoke was about three feet seven inches in
length ; and the straps, which were double, and fastened together
36.
Fig. 1. Wooden yoke and strap found at Thebes.
Fig. 2 is the strap a, on a larger scale.
at the lower as well as at the upper extremity, were of leather,
VOL. I. D
34
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
ClIAP. I.
and between fifteen and sixteen inches long. I'lie small thong
at the bottom not only served to connect the ends, but was pro-
bably intended to fasten a hook, or an additional strap, if re-
quired, to attach the burden : and though most of these yokes
had two, some were furnished with four or eight straps ; and the
form, number, or arrangement of them varied according to the
purposes for which they were intended.
The buckets were filled from the reservoirs or ponds in the
garden, and the water was carried in them to the trees, or the
different beds, which were small hollow squares on the level
ground, surrounded by a low ledge of earth, like our saltpans.
37.
Water-buckets carried by a j'oke on the shoulders.
Thebes.
They do not appear to have used the water-wheel very
generally ; though it was not unknown to them ; but this and the
hydraulic screw were probably of late introduction. They may
also have had the foot-machine mentioned by Philo ; and it is
either to this, or to their stopping the small channels which con-
ducted the water from one bed to another, that the sentence in
Deuteronomy (xi. 40) refers — " Egypt .... where thou sow-
edst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot as a garden of
herbs ;" but the common mode of raising water fi-om the Nile
was by the pole and bucket, the shadoof, so common still in
Egypt.
Skins were much used by the Egyptians for carrying water, as
Chap. I.
SHADOOF ; WATER-SKINS.
?>:>
Sliadiiof, or pole and bucket, l.,i- watering Uie garden. 'JkelKs.
well as for sprinkling the ground before the rooms or scats ol
the grandees, and they were frequently kept ready filled ai
the tank for that purpose.
nMMiyjiiiiiii
_j_j
aaa Water-skins su>pended close to the tanlv h.
c Beds of a garden, laid out as at the present ilay in Egj'pt, very like our saltpans.
39. nebef.
Part of tlie garden was laid out in walks sliaded with trees,
usually planted in rows, and surrounded, at the base of the stem,
with a circular ridge of earth, which, being lower at the centre
than at the circumference, retained the water, and directed it
D 2
36
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
more immediately towards the roots. It is difficult to say if
trees were trimmed into any particular shape, or if their formal
40.
1 . Tree with earth raised round the roots.
2. The same according to our mode of representing it.
appearance iu the sculpture is merely owing to a conventional
mode of representing them ; but, since the pomegranate, and
some other fruit trees, are drawn with spreading and irregular
branches, it is possible that sycamores, and others, which
presented large masses of foliage, were really trained
in that formal manner, though, from the hieroglypliic signi-
fying " ^7-ee" having the same shape, we may conclude it
Avas only a general character for all trees.
Some, as the pomegranates, date-trees, and
dom-Tpalms, are easily recognised in the sculp-
tures.but the rest are doubtful, as are the flower-
ing plants, with the exception of the lotus and
a few others.
To the garden department belonged the care
of the bees, which were kept in hives very like
our own. In Egypt they required great atten-
tion ; and so few are its plants at the present
day, that the owners of hives often take the
bees in boats to various spots upon the Nile, in
quest of flowers. They are a smaller kind than
our own ; and though found wild in the country, they are far less
numerous than wasps, hornets, and ichneumons. The wild bees
live mostly under stones, or in clefts of the rock, as in many
other countries ; and the expression of Moses, as of the Psalmist,
42.
Chap. I. GARDENS, OKCIIAKDS. I'u
" honey out of the rock," shows that in Palestine their habits
were the same. Honey was thought of great importance in
Egypt, both for household purposes, and for an offering to tlic
gods ; that of lienlia (thence surnanied I^t assal), or Athribis.
iu the Delta, retained its reputation to a late time ; and a jar of
honey from that place was one of the four presents sent by John
Mekaukes, the governor of Egypt, to jMohammed.
Large gardens were usually divided into different parts ;
the principal sections being appropriated to the date and syca-
more trees, and to the vineyard. The former may be called the
orchard. The flower and kitchen gardens also occupied a con-
siderable space, laid out in beds ; and dwarf trees, herbs, and
flowers, were grown in red earthen pots, exactly like our own,
arranged in long rows by the wallcs and borders.
Besides the orchard and gardens, some of the large villas had
a park or paradise, with its fish-ponds and preserves for game,'
as well as poultry-yards for keeping hens and geese, 'stalls for
fattening cattle, wild goats, gazelles, and other animals originally
from the desert, whose meat was reckoned among the dainties of
the table. It was in these extensive preserves that the rich
amused themselves with the chase ; and they also enclosed a
considerable space in the desert itself with net-fences, into which
the animals were driven, and shot with arrows, or hunted with
dogs.
Gardens are frequently represented in the tombs of Thebes
and other parts of Egypt, many of which are remarkable for
their extent. The one here introduced is shown to have been
surrounded by an embattled wall, with a canal of water passing in
front of it, connected with the river. Between the canal and
the wall, and parallel to them both, was a shady aveiuie of
various trees ; and about the centre was the entrance, through a
lofty door, whose lintel and jambs were decorated with hiero-
glyphic inscriptions, containing the name of the owner of the
grounds, who in this instance was the king himself. In the gate-
way were rooms for the porter, and other persons employed
about the garden, and, probably, the receiving room for visiter^.
38
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. 1.
43.
A large garden, -nitli the vineyard and other separate enclosures, tanks of water, and a bUiall
house. From the Work of Prof . Bosellini.
whose abrupt admission might be unwelcome ; and at the baciv
a gate opened into the vinej-ard. The vines were trained on a
trellis-work, supported by transverse rafters resting on pillars ;
and a wall, extending round it, separated this part from the rest
of the garden. At the upper end were suites of rooms on three
different stories, looking upon green trees, and affording a plea-
sant retreat in the heat of summer. On the outside of the vine-
j-ard wall were planted rows of palms, which occurred again
Chap. I.
ORCHARD AND VINEYARD.
3St
witli the doin and other trees, along the whole length of the ex-
terior wall : four tanks of water, bordered by a grass plot, where
geese were kept, and the delicate flower of the lotus was en-
couraged to grow, served for the irrigation of the grounds ; and
small kiosks or summer-houses, shaded with trees, stood near the
water, and overlooked beds of flowers. The spaces containing
the tanks, and the adjoining portions of the garden, were each
enclosed by their respective walls, and a small subdivision on
either side, between the large and small tanks, seems to have
been reserved for the growth of particular trees, which either
required peculiar care, or bore a fruit of superior quality.
In all cases, whether the orchard stood apart from, or was
united with, the rest of the garden, it was supplied, like the other
portions of it, with abundance of water, preserved in spacious
reservoirs, on either side of which stood a row of j)alms, or an
avenue of shady sycamores. Sometimes the orchard and vine-
ngj-ptian mode of represeuting a lank of water with a row of palms on cither side.
4 1. Ikebe*.
40
Chap. I.
VINEYARD.
•11
yard were not separated by any wall, and figs* and other trees
were planted within the same limits as the vines. But if not
connected with it. the vineyard was close to the orchard, and
their mode of training the vines on wooden rafters, supported
by rows of columns, Avhich divided the vineyard into numerous
avenues, was both tiisteful and convenient.
The columns were frequently coloured, but many were simple
wooden pillars, supporting, with their forked summits, the poles
that lay over them. Some vines were allowed to grow as
standing bushes, and. being kept low, did not require any sup-
port ; others were formed into a series of bowers ; and from
^\,im
46.
1 2 3 4
Plucking grapes in a vineyard ; the vines trained in Ixiwers. Tliebes.
the form of the hieroglyphic, signifying vineyard, we may con-
im
47.
Figurative liieroglyphic .signifying vineyard.
elude that the most usual method of training them was ir. bowers,
or in avenues formed by rafters and columns. But they do not
• Ccmp. Luke xiii. 6, " A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyai-d j"
and 1 Kings, iv. 25, " Every man under his vine and under his fig-troc."'
42
THE A>'CIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
appear to have attached them to other trees, as the Romans often
did to the elm and poplar, and as the modem Italians do to the
white mulberry ; nor have the Egj-ptians of the present daj
adopted this European custom.
When the vineyard vras enclosed within its own wall of circuit,
it frequently had a reservoir of water attached to it, as well as
'-*^^
Chap. I.
GATHERING TliE GRAPES.
43
the building which contained the winepress;* but the various
modes of arranging the vineyard, as well as the other parts of
the garden, depended, of course, on the taste of each individual,
or the nature of tiie ground. Great care was taken to preser\e the
clusters from the intrusion of birds ; and boys were constantly
employed, about the season of the vintage, to frighten them with
a sling and the sound of the voice.
4?.
Frightening away the birdt^ ■with a sling.
TlitUs.
"When the grapes were gathered the bunches were carefully put
into deep wicker baskets, which men carried, either on their
head or shoulders, or slung upon a yoke, to the winepress ; but
when intended for eating, they were put, like other fruits, into
flat open baskets, and generally covered with leaves of the palm.
50. Fig. 1. Basket containing grapes coTered with leaves, from the scnlpttires.
Fig. 2. Modem basket u^ed for the same purpose.
vine, or other trees. These flat baskets were of wicker-work,
and similar to those of the present day, used at Cairo for
* Comp. Isaiah t. 1, 2, "And he fenced it (the vineyard), and gathered out
the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the
midst of it, and also made a winepress therein ;" and Matthew sxi. 33, " planted
a Tineyeird .... and digged-a winepress in it."
44
THE A]Nuij:..-.T EGIPTIAjS'S.
CILA.P. 1.
the same purpose, which are made of osiers or common twigs.
Monkies appear to have been trained to assist in gathering the
fruit, nd the Egj'ptians represent them in the sculptures handing
51.
Monkies assisting in gathering fruit.
Beni-llassan.
down figs from the sycamore-trees to the gardeners below : but.
as might be expected, these animals amply repaid themselves for
the trouble imposed upon them, and the artist has not failed to
show that they consulted their own wishes as well as those of
their employers.
Many animals were tamed in Eg}'pt for various purposes, as
the lion, leopard, gazelle, baboon, crocodile, and others ; and in
the Jimraa country, which lies to the south of Abyssinia, monkies
are stil'l taught several useful accomplislmients. Among them
is that of officiating as torch-bearers at a supper party ; and
seated in a row. on a raised bench, they hold the lights until the
departure of the guests, and patiently await their own repast as
a reward for their services. Sometimes the party is alarmed by
an unruly monkey throv/ing his liglited torch into the midst of
the unsuspecting guests ; but fortunately the ladies there do not
wear muslin dresses ; and the stick and " no supper " remind
the offender of his present and future duties.
After the vintage was over, they allowed the kids to browse
upon the vines which grew as standing bushes {comp. Hor. ii. Sat.
C4IAP. 1.
UINEPRESS.
45
52.
Kids allowed to browse upon the vines.
Bcni-//a:>sa>t.
V. 43) ; and the season of the year when the grapes ripened in
Egypt was the month Epiphi, towards the end of June, or the
commencement of July. Some have pretended to doubt that the
vine was commonly cultivated, or even grown, in Egypt ; but the
frequent notice of it, and of Egyptian wine, in tlie sculptures,
and the authority of ancient writers, sufficiently answer those
objections ; and the regrets of the Israelites on leaving the vines
of Egypt prove them to have been very abundant, since even
people in the condition of slaves could procure the fruit (Numb.
XX. o, coinp. Gen. xl. 11).
The winepress was of different kinds. The most simple con-
sisted merely ofa bag, in which the grapes were put, and squeezed,
by means of two poles turning in contrary directions : a vase
being placed below to receive tlie falling juice. Another press,
nearly on the same principle, consisted of a bag supported in a
frame, having two upright sides, connected by beams at their
summit. In this the bag was retained in a horizontal position,
one end fixed, the other passing through a hole in the opposite
46
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
side, and was twisted by means of a rod turned with the hind ;
the juice, as in the former, being received into a vase beneath ;
and within the frame stood the superintendentj who regulated the
quantity of pressure, and gave the signal to stop.
Sometimes a liquid was lieated on the fire, and, having been
well stirred, was poured into the sack containing the grapes,
during the process of pressure ; but whether tliis was solely with
a view of obtaining a greater quantity of juice, by moistening the
husks, or was applied for any other purpose, it is difficult to de-
termine : the fact, however, of its being stirred while on the fire
suffices to show it was not simple water ; and the trituration
of the fruit, while it was poured upon it, may suggest its use in
extracting the colouring matter for red wine.
The two Egyptian hand-presses were used in all parts of the
country, but principally in Lower Egypt, the grajies in the
Thebaid being generally pressed by the feet. The footpress was
also used in the lower country ; and we even find the two
methods of pressing the grapes represented in the same sculp-
tures ; it is not therefore impossible that, after having been sub-
jected to the foot, they may have undergone a second pressure in
.12 11
Large footpress; the a-nphurn'; and the asp, or Agaihoda'mon, the protecting deitj- oi' tbr
store-room, fig. 11. Thebes.
Chap. 1.
AMPIlOKit:.
47
the twisted bag. This does not appear to Iiave bet-ii the case
in tlie Thebaid, where the footpress is always represented alone ;
and the juice was allowed to run off' by a pipe directly to an open
tank {conip. Is. Ixiii. 3, Nehcm. xiii. 1.3, .Judg. ix. 27, Vir"-.
Georg. ii. 7).
Some of the large presses were highly ornamented, and con-
sisted of at least two distinct parts ; the lower portion or vat.
and the trough, where the men, with naked feet, trod the fruit,
supporting themselves by ropes suspended from the roof: though,
from their great height, some may have had an intermediate
reservoir, which received the juice in its passage to the pipe,
answering to the strainer, or colum, of the Komans.
After the fermentation was over, the juice was taken out in
small vases, with a long spout, and poured into earthenware jars,
which corresponded to the cadi or amphorcc of the Romans.
Ji[S- 1. a h c d e
The new wine poured into jars. /. Jars closi d.
Jig. 2.
They appear also to have added something to it after or pre-
vious to the fermentation ; and an instance occurs in the sculp-
tures of a man pouring a liquid from a small cup into the
lower reservoir. When the must was considered in a proper
state, the amphorae were closed with a lid, resembling an
48
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Cn&p.I.
inverted saucer, covered with liquid clay, pitch, gypsum, mortar,
or other composition, which was stamped with a seal : they were
tlien removed from the winehouse, and placed upright in the
cellar.
51).
Thebes.
AVine-jars with Covers. On fio. 1 is Krp, " wine.'
Previous to pouring in the wine they generally put a certain
quantity of resin into the amphorcB, which coated the inside of
those porous jars, preserved the wine, and was even supposed to
improve its flavour ; a notion, or rather an acquired taste, owing,
probably, to their having at first used skins instead of jars : and
the flavour imparted by the resin, which was necessary to pre-
serve the skins, having become, from long habit, a favourite
peculiarity of the wine, it was afterwards added from choice, after
they had adopted the use of earthenware. And this custom,
formerly so general in Egypt, Italy, and Greece, is still pre-
served throughout the islands of the Archipelago. In Egypt, a
resinous substance is always found at the bottom of amphorae
which have served for holding wine ; it is perfectly preserved,
brittle, and, when burnt, smells like a very fine quality of pitch.
The Romans, according to Pliny, employed the Brutian pitch.
or resin of the picea pine, in preference to all others, for this
purpose : and if, " in Spain, they used that of the pinaster, it was
little esteemed on account of its bitterness and oppressive smell."
In the East, the terebinthus was considered to afford the best
resin, superior even to the mastic of the lentiscus ; and the resins
of Judaea and Syria only yielded in quality to that of Cyprus.
The mode of arranging amphora? in an Egyptian cellar was
CiiAP. I. WINE IN THE CELLAR. 49
similar to that adopted by the Greeks and Romans. They stood
upriglit ill successive rows, the inner-
most set resting against the wall, with
their pointed ends firmly fixed in the
ground : and each jar was secured
by means ol" a stone ring fitting round
its pointed base, or was raised on a
wooden stand. Others appear occa-
sionally to have been placed in upper
rooms, as the amphorae in a Homan ,. v, -„ . ^ ^
' ^ •>'■ vase supported by a stone ring.
opof/ieca.
The Egyptians had several different kinds of wine, some of
which have been commended by ancient authors for their excel-
lent qualities. That of Mareotis was the most esteemed, and in
the greatest quantity. Its superiority over other Egyptian wines
may readily be accounted for. when we consider the nature of
the soil in that district ; being principally composed of gravel,
which, lying beyond the reach of the alluvial deposit, was free
from the rich and tenacious mud usually met with in the valley
of the Nile, so little suited for grapes of delicate quality ; and
from the extensive remains of vineyards still found on the
western borders of the Arsinoite nome. or Fyooni. we mav con-
clude that the ancient Egyptians were fully aware of the advan-
tages of land, situated beyond the limits of the inundation, for
planting the vine. According to Athenaeus, " the Mareotic
grape was remarkable for its sweetness," and the wine is thus
described by him : " Its colour is white, its quality excellent, and
it is sweet and light with a fragrant boiirfiet ; it is by no means
astringent, nor does it affect the head." But it was not for its
flavour alone that this wine was esteemed, and Strabo ascribes to
it the additional merit of keeping to a great age. *' Still, how-
ever." savs Athenaeus, '• it is inferior to the Teniotic. a wine wiiich
receives its name from a place called Tenia, where it is pro-
duced. Its colour is pale and white, and there is such a degree
of richness in it. that, when mixed with water, it seems gradually
to be diluted, much in the same way as Attic honey when a
VOL. I. K
50 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. 1.
liquid is poured into it ; and besides the agreeable flavour of
the wine, its fragrance is so delightful as to render it perfectly
aromatic, and it has the property of being slightly astringent.
There are many other vineyards in the valley of the Nile, whose
wines are in great repute, and these differ both in colour and
taste : but that which is produced about Anthylla is preferred to
all the rest." Some of the wine made in the Thebaid was par-
ticularly light, especially about Coptos, and " so wholesome,"
says the same author, " that invalids might take it without in-
convenience, even during a fever." The Sebennytic was like-
wise one of the choice Egyptian wines ; and, as Pliny says, was
made of three different grapes ; one of which was a sort of
Thasian. The Thasian grape he afterwards describes as excelling
all others in Egypt for its sweetness, and remarkable for its
medicinal properties.
The Mendesian is also mentioned by Clemens, with rather a
sweet flavour : and another singular wine, called by Pliny
ecbolada (txSoXac) was also the produce of Egypt ; but, from
its peculiar powers, we may suppose that men alone drank it, or
at least that it was forbidden to newly married brides. And,
considering how prevalent the custom was amongst the ancients
of altering the qualities of wines, by drugs and divers processes,
we may readily conceive the possibility of the effects ascribed to
them ; and thus it happened that opposite properties were fre-
quently attributed to the same kind.
Wines were much used by them for micdicinal purposes, and
many were held in such repute as to be considered specifics in
certain complaints ; but the medical men of the day were prudent
in their mode of prescribing them ; and as imagination has on
many occasions effected the cure, and given celebrity to a medicine,
those least known were wisely preferred, and each extolled the
virtues of some foreign wine. In the earliest times, Egypt was re-
nowned for drugs, and foreigners had recourse to that country for
wines as well as herbs : yet Apullodorus, the physician, in a treatise
on wines, addressed to Ptolemy, king of Egypt, recommended those
of Pontus as more beneficial than any of his oWn country, and
Chap. I. VARIOUS WINES. 51
particularly i)raisi'(l tlio Pei)aretliiaii, produced in an island nf
the ^Egean Sea ; but he was disposed to consider it less valuable
as a medicine, wiien its good qualities could not be discovered in
six years.
Tlie wines of Alexandria and Coptos are also cited among the
best of Egyptian growth ; and the latter was so light as not to
affect even those in delicate health.
In offerings to the Egyptian deities wine frequently occurs,
and several different kinds are noticed in the sacred sculptures ;
but it is probable that many of the Egyptian wines are not intro-
duced in those subjects, and that, as with the Eomans, and other
people, all were not admitted at their sacrifices. According to
Herodotus, their sacrifices commenced with a libation of wine,
and some was sprinkled on tlie ground wiiere the victim lav ;
yet at Heliopolis, if l^lutarch may be credited, it was forbidden
to take it into the temple, and the priests of the god worshipped
in that city were required to abstain from its use. '' Those of
other deities," adds the same author, " were less scrupulous."
but still they used wine very sparingly, and tlie quantity
allowed them for their daily consumption was regulated by law ;
nor could they indulge in it at all times, and the use of it was
strictly prohibited during their more solemn purifications, and
in times of abstinence. The number of wines, mentioned in
the lists of ofterings presented to tiie deities in the tombs or
temples, varies in different places. Each appears with its pecu-
liar name attached to it ; hut they seldom exceed three or four
kinds, and among them I have observed, at Thebes, that of the
•• northern country." Avhich was. perhaps, from IMareotis, An-
thylla, or the nome of Sebennytus.
Private individuals were under no particular restrictions with
regard to its use, and it was not forbidden to Avomen. In this
they differed widely from the Komans : for in early times no
female at Rome enjoyed the privilege, and it was unlawful for
women, or, indeed, for young men below the age of thirty, to
drink wine, except at sacrifices. Even at a later time the Ro-
mans considered it disgraceful for a woman to drink wine : and
E 2
52
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. 1.
they sometimes saluted a female relation, whom they suspected,
in order to discover if she had secretly indulged in its use. It
was afterwards allowed them on the plea of health, and no better
method could have been devised for removing the restriction.
_ That Egyptian women were not forbidden the use of wine,
nor the enjoyment of otlier luxuries, is evident from the frescoes
which represent their feasts ; and the painters, in illustrating
this fact, have sometimes sacrificed their gallantry to a love of
5S.
A servant called to support her mistress.
Thebes.
caricature. Some call the servants to support them as they sit,
others with difficulty prevent themselves from falling on those
behind them ; a basin is brought too late by a reluctant servant
A party of Egjrptian ladies.
Thebes.
Chap. I.
DKINKINC PARTIES.
53
and the faded flow(^r. which is ready to drop from their lieutc d
hands, is intended to be characteristic of their own sensations.
That tiie consumption of wine in Kgypt was very great is
evident from tlie sculptures, and from the accounts of ancient
autliors, some of whom have censured the Egyptians for their
excesses ; and so much did the quantity used exceed that made
in the country, that, in the time of Herodotus, twice every year a
h^rge im])()rtation was received from Phoenicia and (Jreece.
Notwithstanding all the injunctions or exhortations of the
priests in favour of temj)erance, the Egyptians of both sexes
appear from the sculptures to have committed occasional ex-
cesses, and men were sometimes unable to walk from a feast, and
were carried home by servants. These scenes, however, do not
'i '. Men carried home from a drinking party. L'eni I/asfa,i.
ajipear to refer to members of the higher, but of the lower,
classes, some of whom indulged in extravagant buffoonery,
dancing in a ludicrous manner, or standing on their heads, and
frequently in amusements which terminated in a fight.
At the tables of the ricli. stinuilants were sometimes intro-
duced, to excite the palate before drinking, and Athena?us men-
tions cabbages as one of the vegetables used by the P'gyptians
for this purpose.
Throughout the upper and lower country, wine was the favourite
beverage of the wealtliy : they had also very excellent beer,
called :i/t/itis, wiiich Diodorus, though wholly unaccustomed to
it, and a native of a wine country, affirms was scarcely inferior
to the juice of the grape. Strabo and other ancient authors
54 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. I.
have likewise mentioned it under the name of zythus ; and
though Herodotus pretends that it was merely used as a substi-
tute for wine in the lowlands, where corn was principally culti-
vated, it is more reasonable to conclude it was drunk by the
peasants in all parts of Egypt, though less in those districts where
vines were abundant. Native wines of a choice kind, whether
made in the vicinity or brought from another province, were
confined to the rich ; and we learn from Strabo that this was
the case even at Alexandria, where wine could be obtained in
greater quantity than in any other part of Egypt, owing to the
proximity of the Mareotic district ; and the common people were
there content with beer and the poor wine of the coast of Libya.
l^gyptian beer was made from barley ; but, as hops were
unknown, they were obliged to have recourse to other plants, in
order to give it a grateful flavour ; and the lupin, the skirret
(^Sium sisaruin), and the root of an Assyrian plant, were used
by them for that purpose.
The vicinity of Pelusium was the most noted for its beer,
and the Pelusiac zythus is mentioned by more than one author.
The account given by Athenseus of Egyptian beer is that it
was very strong, and had so exhilarating an effect that they
danced, and sang, and committed the same excesses as those
who were intoxicated with the strongest wines ; an observation
confirmed by the authority of Aristotle, whose opinion on the
subject has at least the merit of being amusing. For we must
smile at the philosopher's method of distinguishing persons suf-
fering under the influence of wine and beer, however disposed he
would have been to accuse us of ignorance in not having yet
discovered how invariably the former in that state " lie upon
their face, and the latter on their backs."
Besides beer, the Egyptians had what Pliny calls factitious, or
artificial, wine, extracted from various fruits, as figs, myxas^
pomegranates, as well as herbs, some of which were selected for
their medicinal properties. The Greeks and Latins compre-
iiended everj' kind of beverage made by the process of fermenta-
tion under the same general name, and beer was designated as
Chap. I. BEER; PALM-WINE; D.VTE-TKEES. 55
bi\r\ey-ivi?ie ; but, by the use of tlie name zythos, tliey show that
the Egyptians distinguished it by its own peculiar appelhition.
Palm-wine was also made in Egypt, and used in the process of
embalming.
Tlie palm-wine now made in Egypt and the Oases is simply
from an incision in the heart of the tree, immediately below the
base of the upper branches, and a jar is attached to the part to
catch the juice which exudes from it. But a palm thus tapped is
rendered perfectly useless as a fruit-bearing tree, and generally
dies in consequence ; and it is reasonable to suppose that so great
a sacrifice is seldom made except when date-trees are to be felled,
or when they grow in great abundance. The modern name of
tliis beverage in Egypt is lon-bgeh ; in flavour it resembles a
very new light wine, and may be dnuik in great quantity when
taken from the tree ; but, as soon as the fermentation has com-
menced, its intoxicating qualities have a powerful and speedy
effect.
Amono; the various fruit - trees cultivated bv the ancient
Egyptians, ])ah»s, of course, held the first rank, as well from their
abundance as from their great utility. The fruit constituted a
principal part of their food, both in the month of August, when
it was gathered fresh from the trees, and at other seasons of the
year, when it was used in a preserved state. 'J'hey had two
different modes of keeping the dates ; one was by the sim])le
process of drying them, the other was by making them into a
conserve, like the agweh of the present day; and of this, whicli
was eaten either cooked or as a simple sweetmeat, I have found
some cakes, as well as the dried dates, in the sepulchres of
Thebes.
Pliny makes a just remark respecting the localities where the
palm prospers, and the constant irrigation it requires ; and though
every one in the East knows the tree will not grow except where
water is abundant, we still read of " palm-trees of the desert," as
if it delighted in an arid district. Wherever it is found it is a
sure indication of water ; and if it may be said to flourish in a
sandy soil, this is only in situations where its roots can obtain
56
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
a certain quantity of moisture. The numerous purposes for
which its branches and other parts might be applied rendered the
cultivation of this valuable and productive tree a matter of
primary importance, for no portion of it is without its peculiar
use. The trunk serves for beams, either entire, or split in half;
of the gereet, or branches, are made wicker baskets, bedsteads,
coops, and ceilings of rooms, answering every purpose for which
laths or any thin woodwork are required ; the leaves are con-
verted into mats, brooms, and baskets ; of the fibrous tegument
at the base of the branches, strong ropes and mats are made, and
even the thick ends of the gereet are beaten flat and formed into
brooms. Besides the lowbg^li of the tree, brandy, wine, and
vinegar are made from the fruit ; and the quantity of sac-
charine matter in the dates might be used in default of sugar or
honey.
In Upper Egypt another tree, called the Dom, or Theban
palm, was also much cultivated, and its wood, more solid and
compact than the date-tree, is found to answer as well for rafts,
and other purposes connected with water, as for beams and rafters.
61.
Fif;. 3. Dom nut, which is the head of the drill.
Found at Tlnbes.
CiiAi'. r. PALMS AM) OTIIF.K TKHES. 57
The fruit is a large rouiulod mit. with a tibrous exterior envelope,
which has a Havour very similar to our gingerbread ; and from
its extreme hardness this nut was used for tiie hollow socket nt'
their drills, or centre-bits, as Avell as for beads and other purposes.
Of the leaves of the doin were made baskets, sacks, mats, fans,
fly-flaps, brushes, and light sandals ; and they served as a general
substitute for those of the date-tree, and for the rashes, halfck or
pan grass, the cyperns. osiers, and other materials employed for
the same purposes in Egypt.
Next to the palms, the principal trees of the garden were the
fig. sycamore, pomegranate, olive, peach, almond, persea, 7iebk
or sklr, mohhmjt or myxa, kharooh or locust-tree ; and of those
that bore no fruit the most remarkable were the two tamarisks, the
cassia fistula, semia, palma christi or castor-berry tree, myrtle,
various kinds of •• acanthus " or acacia, and some others still found
in the deserts between the Nile and the Red Sea. vSo fond were
the Egyptians of trees and flowers, and of rearing numerous and
rare plants, that they even made them part of the tribute exacted
from foreign jcountries ; and such, according to Athenajus.
" was the ctire they bestowed on their culture, that those flowers
which elsewhere were only sparingly produced, even in their
proper season, grew profusely at all times in Egypt ; so that
neither roses, nor violets, nor any others, were wanting there,
even in the middle of winter." The tables in their sitting-rooms
were always decked with bouquets, and they had even artifi-
cial flowers, which received the name of " -lEgyptian." The
lotus was the favourite for wreaths and chaplets ; they also em-
ployed the leaves or blossoms of other plants, as the chrysanthe-
mum, ac7«o«, acAcia, strijch/ius, pcrsolntru anemone, convolvulus,
olive, myrtle, ninaricus. xeranthemum, bay-tree, and others ; and
when Agesilaus visited Egypt he was so delighted with the
chaplets of papyrus sent him by the Egyptian king, that lie
took some home with him on his return to Sparta. ]'>ut it is
singular that, while tlie lotus is so often represented, no instance
occurs on the monuments of the Indian lotus, or Nelumhium,
though the Roman-Egyptian sculptures point it out as a peculiar
58
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
plant of Egypt, placing it about the figure of the god Nile ;
and it is stated by Latin writers to have been common in the
country.
In the furniture of their houses the Egyptians displayed con-
siderable taste ; and there, as elsewhere, they studiously avoided
too much regularity, justly considermg that its monotonous effect
fatigued the eye. They preferred variety both in the arrange-
ment of the rooms and in the character of their furniture, and
neither the windows, doors, nor wings of the house, exactly cor-
responded with each other. An Egyptian would therefore have
been more pleased with the form of our Elizabethan, than of the
box-shaped rooms of later times.
In their mode of sitting on chairs they resembled the modern
Europeans rather than Asiatics, neither using, like the latter, soft
divans, nor sitting cross-legged on carpets. Nor did they re-
cline at meals, as the Eomans, on a tiiclinium, though couches
and ottomans formed part of the furniture of an Egyjitian as of an
English drawing-room. When Joseph entertained his brethren,
he ordered them to sit according to their ages. And if they
sometimes sat cross-legged on the ground, on mats and carpets,
or knelt on one or both knees, these were rather the customs for
certain occasions, and of the poorer classes. To sit on their heels
was also customary as a token of respect in the presence of a
Positions, when seated on tlie ground. Fig. 1. Cross-legged
superior, as in modern Egypt ; and when a priest bore a shrine
before the deity he assumed this position of humility ; a still
greater respect being shown by prostration, or by kneeling and
Chap. I.
CilAlUS.
5i»
kissing the ground. But the house of a wealthy person was always
furnished with chairs and couches. Stools and low seats were
also used, the seat being only from 8 to 14 inches high, and of
a.
«4
ChM-s.
ftritUh tfinfum
60
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
Chap. I.
FAUTEUILS.
Gl
s-
a
s
c
^h\^
,•>-,
62
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
wood, or interlaced with thongs ; these however may be considered
equivalent to our rush-bottomed chairs, and probably belonged
to persons of humble means. They varied in their quality, and
some were inlaid with ivory and various woods.
Those most connr.on in the houses of the rich were the single
Double and Single Chairs.
Tliebes.
and double chair (answering to the Greek thronos and diphros),
the latter sometimes kept as a family seat, and occupied by the
master and mistress of the house, or a married couple. It was
not, however, always reserved exclusively for them, nor did they
invariably occupy the same seat ; they sometimes sat like their
guests on separate chairs, and a diphros was occasionally offered
to visiters, both men and women.
]\fany of the fauteuils were of the most elegant form. They
were made of ebony and other rare woods, inlaid with ivory,
and very similar to some now used in Europe. The legs were
mostly in imitation of those of an animal ; and lions' heads, or
the entire body, formed the arms of large fauteuils, as in the
throne of Solomon (1 Kings x. 19). Some again -had folding
Ciivr. I.
FAUTEUILS.
(;3
legs, like our camp-stools ; the seat was often slightly coiicavo :
and those in the royal palace were ornaraented with the ligures
of captives, or emblems of his dominion over Egypt and other
countries. The back was light and strong, and consisted of a
single set of upriglit and cross bars, or of a frame receding
gradually and terminating at its summit in a graceful curve,
supported from without by perpendicular bars ; and over this
wa*! thrown a handsome pillow of coloured cotton, painted
leather, or gold and silver tissue, like the l^eds at the feast of
Ahasuerus, mentioned in Esther ; or like the feathered cushions
covered with stuffs and embroidered with silk and threads of
gold in the palace of Scaurus. ( Woodcuts 65 and 65 a.)
Seats on the principle of our camp-stools seem to have been much
67. Fig. 1. A stool In the British Museum, on the principle of our camp-stools.
2. Shows the manner in which tlie leather seat was fastened.
3. A similar one from the sculptures, with its cushion.
in vogue. They were furnished with a cushion, or were covered
with the skin of a leopard, or some other animal, which was re-
moved when the seat was folded up ; and it was not unusual to
make even head-stools, or wooden pillows, on the same principle.
They were also adorned in various ways, bound with metal plates,
u
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
and inlaid witli ivory or foreign woods ; and the wood of common
chairs was often painted to resemble that of a rarer and more
valuable kind.
The seats of chairs were frequently
of leather, painted with flowers
and fancy devices ; or of interlaced
work made of string or thongs, care-
fully and neatly arranged, -which, like
our Indian cane chairs, were particu-
^^M larly adapted for a hot climate ; but
iA/i:lJs=ill over this they occasionally placed a
"^ ~~ ^ leather cushion, painted in the manner
68. already mentioned.
The forms of the chairs varied very much ; the larger ones
generally had light backs, and some few had arms. They were
69.
From the Sculptures
mostly about the height of those now used in Europe, the seat
nearly in a line with the bend of the knee ; but some were very
low, and others offered that variety of position which we seek in
the kangaroo chairs of our own drawing-room ( Woodcut 70,
^g. 3). The ordinary fashion of the legs was in imitation of those
of some wild animal, as the lion or the goat, but more usually the
former, the foot raised and supported on a short pin ; and, what is
Chap. I.
CliAIKS AND STOOLS.
65
remarkable, tlie skill of tlit'ir cabinet-makers, even before the
time of .Iose{)ii, had already done away with the necessity of
uniting the legs with bars. Stools, however, and more rarely
1^.1
m
h,^:=
i
Fig. 1. A Siifipo^ or douWe cliair, without a back.
2. A single ctiair, of similar construcliou.
3. A kangaroo chair.
Sculptures.
chairs, were occasionally made with these strengthening mem-
bers, as is still the case in our own country ; but the drawing-
room fauteuil and couch were not disfigured by so unseemly and
so unskilful a support.
71.
Fig. 1. Stools. 2. W'ith a cushion. 3, 4, 5. With solid sides.
Thebes.
The stools used in the saloon were of the same style and ele-
gance as the chairs, frequently differing from them only in the
absence of a back ; and those of more delicate workmansliip
were made of ebony, and inlaid, as already stated, with ivory
VOL. I. F
66
THE ANClEiST EGYPTIANS.
Chap. i.
72.
Fig. 1. Stool of ebony inlaid with ivory.
2. Shows the inlaid parts of the legs.
3. Of ordinary construction, in the same collection.
i^^V
British Masnuiii.
73
A stool with leather cushion.
British Museum, i
Figs. I, 2. Three-legged s ools, from ihc Stulpliue-
3. Wooden stool, I'l. the British Museum,
i, and 1, ure probably of metal.
Chap. I.
STODLS. OTTOMANS.
67
or rare woods. Someofiui ordinary kind had solid sides, ;iiul
were generally very low ; and otller^., with three legs, not unlili.e
those used by tlie peasants of England, belonged to persons of
inferior rank.
1
1-
^ —
n\ 1
:5
T."). Fig. I . IjOW stool, in the Berlin Museum.
2, :!. Mode of fastening, and the pattern of the seat.
Tlie ottomans were simple square sofas, without backs, raised
from the ground nearly to tlie same level as the chairs. I'lif
rboopoooeooooooooooos eo booT?
>ooooooooo ooe ooeee.o 04000 oeoi
1.1. I Hi ^ii.i L Jill,, i i'i" \m
lJ_,i:I.LL^Lii]Ll:lU
III l!U llli Jill nil ,
fWWWWWWWWP
LWVWYWWWW
ZlIU __ JllLiliL llll_
J
7fi.
Ottomans, from the tomb of Remeses III.
Thfbfs.
68
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
upper part was of leather, or a cotton stuff, richly coloured,
like the cushions of the fauteuils ; the base was of wood, painted
with various devices ; and those in the royal palace were orna-
mented with the figures of captives, the conquest of whose
country was designated by their having this humiliating posi-
tion. The same idea gave them a place on the soles of sandals,
on the footstools of a royal throne, and on the walls of the palace
at Medeenet Haboo, in Thebes, where their heads support some
of the ornamental details of the building.
Footstools also constituted part of the furniture of the sitting-
room ; they were made with solid or open sides, covered at the
top with leather or interlaced work, and varied in height
according to circumstances, some being of the usual size now
adopted by us, others of inconsiderable thickness, and rather
resembling a small rug. Carpets, indeed, were a very early in-
vention, and they are often represented sitting upon them, as
well as on mats, which were commonly used in their sitting-
Fig. 1 . A low seat, perhaps a carpet.
2. Either similar to tig. 1, or of wood.
3. A mat.
rooms, as at the present day, and remnants of them have been
found in the Theban tombs.
Their couches evinced no less taste than the fauteuils. They
were of wood, with one end raised, and receding in a graceful
ClIAP. 1.
COUCHES. TABLES.
(J'J
curve ; and the feet, as in raany of the chairs already described,
were fashioned to rt'semble those of some wild animal.
78. !•:.'. .. A couch.
a. Pillow or head stool.
3. Steps for ascending a lofty couch. (Tomb of Bemeses III.) Tlielxs.
Egyptian tables were round, square, or oblong ; the former
were generally used during their repasts, and consisted of a
circular flat summit, supported, like the monopodium of the Ro-
mans, on a single shaft, or leg, in the centre, or by the figure of a
7».
Fig. 1. Table, probably of stone or wood, from the sculpttxres.
2. Stone table supported by the figiirc of a captive.
3. Probably of metal, from the sculptures.
70
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
man, intended to represent a captive. Large tables had usually
three or four legs, but some were made with solid sides ; and
though generally of wood, many were of metal or stone ; and
they varied in size, according to the purposes for which they
were intended.
80.
AVooden table, in the British lluseiim
81.
Fig.
1. Table, from the sculptures of Thebes.
2. With solid sides.
Of the furniture of their bed-rooms we know little or nothing :
but that t'hey universally employed the wooden pillow above
alluded to is evident, though Porphyry would lead us to sup-
pose its use was confined to the priests, when, in noticing their
mode of life, he mentions a half cylinder of well polished wood
"sufficing to support their head," as an instance of their simplicity
Chap. I.
BEDKOOM FURNrrriil..
71
and self-denial. For the rich tiicy were made of urieiit;
baster, with an elegant grooved
or fluted shaft, ornamented witli
hicrogly]ihics. earved in int;iglio,
of syeaniure, tamarisk, and otlier
woods of the country ; the jworer
classes being contented with a
cheajier sort, of ))ottery or stone.
rori)hyry mentions a kind of
wicker bedstead o^ palm bia-iiehes, 82. Wooden pillow,
hence called baU, evidently the species of framework
11 aia-
called
83. Fig. 1 . Wooden pillow of unusual fonn.
2, Another found by me at Thebes, and now in the British Museum. The
base was lost.
84, Fig. 1. KaJTass bedstead of palm slicks used \>y the modern Kpypllani
2. Ancient bier on which the bodies wcie pUtced after death.
72
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. I.
kaffass, still employed by the modern Egyptians as a support
to the diivans of sitting rooms, and to their beds. Wooden,
and perhaps also bronze, bedsteads (like the iron one of Og, King
of Bashan), were used by the wealthier classes of the ancient
Egyptians ; and it is at least probable that the couches they slept
upon were as elegant as those on which their bodies reposed after
death ; and the more so, as these last, in their general style, are
very similar to the furniture of the sitting-room.
B. Modern shaddof, or' pole and bucket, used for raising water, in Upper and Lower Egypt.
Pavilion of Remeses III. at Jledeenet Ilaboo.
Thebet
CHAPTER II.
RECEPTION OF GUESTS — MUSIC — VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS — SACRED
MUSIC — DANCE.
Ix their entertainments they appear to have omitted nothing
which could promote festivity and the amusement of the guests.
Music,* songs, dancing.f buffoonery, feats of agility, or games of
chance, were generally introduced ; and they welcomed them with
all the luxuries which the cellar and the table could afford.
The party, when invited to dinner, met about middiiy.J and
they arrived successively in their chariots, in j)alanquins borne
by their servants, or on foot. Sometimes their attendants
screened them from the sun by holding up a shield, (as is still
done in Southern Africa,) or by some other contrivance ; but
the chariot of the king, ■§ or of a ]irincess, (| wsis often fur-
* Comp. Isaiali v. 12, •' The harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine,
are at their feasts."
\ Comp. the feast given on the arrival of the prodigal son : " Bring hither the
fetted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be meriy :" and his brother, when he
drew nigh to the house, " heard music and dancing." Luke sv. 23, 25.
J Joseph said, " These men shall dine with me at noon." Gen. xliii. 16.
§ Woodcut 86. II See a Chariot in Chapter vi.
Chap. II.
UMBRELLAS.
75
lMJJJ.UljmiD
86
Chariot with Umbrella.
Thebes.
Military chief carried in a sort of palanqnin, an attendant bearing a parasol behind him.
87. Beni Battan.
76 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. II.
nished with a large parasol ; and the flabella borne behind
the king, which belonged exclusively to royalty, answered the
same purpose. They were composed of feathers, and were not
very unlike those carried on state occasions behind the Pope in
modern Rome. Parasols or umbrellas were also used in Assyria,
Persia, and other Eastern countries.
"When a visitor came in his car, he was attended by a number
of servants, some of whom carried a stool, to enable him to
alight, and others his writing tablet, or whatever he might want
during his stay at the house. In the wood-cut (No. 85) the
guests are assembled in a sitting room within, and are enter
tained with music during the interval preceding the announce-
ment of dinner ; for, like the Greeks, they considered it a want
of good breeding to sit down to table immediately on arriving,
and, as Bdelycleon, in Aristophanes, recommended his father
Philocleon to do, they praised the beauty of the rooms and the
furniture, taking care to show particular interest in those objects
which were intended for admiration. As usual in all countries,
some of the party arrived earlier than others ; and the conse-
quence, or affectation of fashion, in the person who now drives
up in liis curricle, is shown by his coming some time after the
rest of the company ; one of his footmen runs forward to knock
at the door, others, close behind the chariot, are ready to take
the reins, and to perform their accustomed duties ; and the one
holding his sandals in his hand, that he may run with greater
ease, illustrates a custom, still common in Egypt, among the
Arabs and peasants of the country, who find the power of the
foot greater when freed from the encumbrance of a shoe.
To those who arrived from a journey, or who desired it, water
was brought * for their feet, previous to entering the festive
chamber. They also washed their hands before dinner, the water
being brought in the same manner as at the present day ; and
* Joseph ordered his servants to fetch water for his brethren, that they might
wash their feet before they ate. Gen. xliii. 24, Comp. also xviii. 4, and xxiv. 32 ;
1 Sam. XXV. 46. It was always a custom of the East, as with the Greeks and
Romans. Comp. Luke vii. 44, 46.
Chap. II.
RECEPTION OF GUESTS.
77
ewers, not unlike those used by the modern Egyptians, are repre-
sented, with the basins belonging to them, in tlie paintings of a
Tlu'ban tomi). In the houses of the ricli tliev wore of isold.
m^^w
Guillen ewers and basins iu the tomb of Kcmescs 111.
Thehti.
or other costly materials. Herodotus mentions the golden
foot- pan, in which Amasis and his guests used to wash their
feet. The Greeks had tlio same custom of bringing water to the
guests, numerous instances of which we find in Homer ; as wlien
Telemachus and the son of Nestor were received at the house of
JMenelaus, and when Asphalion poured it upon the hands of his
master, and the same guests, on another occasion. Virgil also
describes the servants bringing water for this jiurpo-se. when
-ZEneas was entertained by Dido. Nor was the ceren)ony thonglit
superfluous, or declined, even though they had previously batlied
and been anointed with oil.
It is also probable that, like the (1 reeks, the Egyptians
anointed themselves before they left home ; but still it was cus-
tomary for a servant to attend every guest, as he seated himself,
and to anoint his head ; which was one of the principal tokens
of welcome. The ointment was sAveet-scented. and was con-
78
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
tained in an alabaster, or in an elegant glass or porcelain vase,
some of which have been found in the tombs of Thebes.* Ser-
89. A servant anointing a guest. Theba.
vants took the sandals of the guests as they arrived, and either
put them by in a convenient place in the house, or held tliem on
their arm while they waited upon them.
90. Servants bringing necklaces of flowers. Tlichcs.
After the ceremony of anointing was over, and, in some cases,
* Mary, when she washed Jesus' feet, brought an alabaster box of ointment.
Luke vii. 37. Matt, xxvi, 7.
Chap. II.
NECKLACES AND FLOWEKS.
7 it
at till' time of entering the saloon, a lotus flower was presented
to each guest, who held it in his hand during the entertainment.
Servants then brought necklaces of flowers, composed chiefly of
the lotus ; a garland was also put round the head, and a single
lotus bud, or a full-blown flower, was so attached as to hang over
the forehead. ^lany of them, made up into wTeaths and other
devices, were suspended upon stands in the room ready for im-
mediate use ; and servants were constantly employed to bring
other fresh flowers from the garden, in order to supply the
guests as their bouquets faded.
The stands that served for holding the flowers and garlands
were similar to those of the amphorae and vases, some of which
have been found in the tombs of Thebes ; and the same kind of
stand was introduced into a lady's dressing-room, or the bath, for
the purpose of holding clothes and other articles of the toilet.
They varied in size according to circumstances, some being low
and broad at the top, others higher, with a small summit, merely
large enough to contain a single cup, or a small bottle. Others,
base, 1 ft. 6 in. broad. ""fll^ %
W. Wooden stand, 8 in. square at the summit, holding a small cup. Britith Viueum.
80
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
Iliougli much smaller than the common stands, were broader in
proportion to their height, and answered as small tables, or as
the supports of cases containing bottles ; and one of these last,
preserved in the Berlin Museum, is supposed to have belonged
to a medical man, or to the toilet of a Theban lady.
The vases are six in number, varying slightly in form and
size ; five of alabaster, and the remaining one of serpentine, each
standing in its ov^n cell or compartment.
92.
A case containing bottles supported on a stand.
Berlin Museum.
The Greeks and Romans had the same custom of presenting
guests with flowers or garlands, wliich were brought in at the
beginning of their entertainments, or before the second course
They not only adorned their heads, necks, and breasts, like the
Egyptians, but often bestrewed the couches on which they lay,
and all parts of the room, with flowers ; though the head was
chiefly regarded, as appears from Horace, Anacreon, Ovid, and
other ancient authors. The wine-bowl, too, was crowned with
flx)wers, as at an Egj'ptian banquet. They also perfumed the
apartment with myrrh, frankincense, and other choice odours.
ClIAP. 11.
WINE OFFERED TO THE GUESTS.
81
which they obtained from Syria ; and if the sculjjtnres do not
give anv direct representation of this practice anionfjj tlie Egypt-
ians, we know it to liave been adopted and deemed indispensable
among them ; and a striking instance is recorded by Plutarch,
at the reception of Agesilaus by Tachos. A sumptuous dinner
was prepared for the Si)artan prince, consisting, tis usual, of
beef, goose, and other Egyptian dislies : he was crowned with
garlands of papyrus, and received with every token of w^elcome :
but when he refused " the sweetmeats, confections, and per-
fumes," the Egyptians held hira in great contempt, as a person
unaccustomed to, and unworthy of, the manners of civilized
society.
The Greeks, and otlier ancient people, usually put on a par-
ticular garment at festive meetings, generally of a white colour ;
but it does not appear to have been customarj- with the Egyptians
to make any great alteration in their attire, though they evidently
abstained from dresses of a gloomy hue.
The guests being seated, and having received these tokens
of welcome, wine was offered them by the servants. To the
ladies it was generally brought in a small vase, which, when
emptied into the driuking-cup, was handed to an under servant,
or slave, who followed ; but to the men it was frequently pre-
_r fT ^ T"
S3.
VOL. I.
Offering wine to a guest.
Theb'.t.
82 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. II.
sented in a one-handled goblet, without being poured into any
cup, and sometimes in a large or small vase of gold, silver, or
other materials.
Herodotus and Hellanicus both say that they drank wine out
of brass or bronze goblets ; and, indeed, the former affirms that
this was the only kind of drinking-cup known to the Egyptians ;
but Joseph* had one of silver, and the sculptures represent them
of glass, and porcelain, as well as of gold, silver, and bronze.
Those who could not afford the more costly kind were satisfied
with a cheaper quality, and many were contented with cups of
common earthenware ; but the wealthy Egyptians used vases of
glass, porcelain, and the precious metals, for numerous purposes,
both in their houses and in the temples of the gods.
The practice of introducing wine at the commencement^ of an
entertainment, or before dinner had been served up, was not
peculiar to this people ; and the Chinese, to the present day,
offer it at their parties to all the guests, as they arrive, in the
same manner as the ancient Egyptians. They also drank wine
during the repast,^ perhaps to the health of one another, or of an
absent friend, like the Romans ; and no doubt the master of the
house, or " the ruler of the feast," § recommended a choice
wine, and pledged them to the cup.
While dinner was preparing, the party was enlivened by the
sound of music ; and a band, consisting of the harp, lyre, guitar,
tambourine, double and single pipe, flute, and other instruments,
played the favourite airs and songs of the country. Nor was it
deemed unbecoming the gravity and dignity of a priest to admit
musicians into his house, or to take pleasure in witnessing the
dance ; and, seated with their wives and family in the midst of
* Gen. xliv. 2, 5, "My cup, the silver cup."
i* " That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments."
Amos, vi. 6.
J Gen. xliii. 34. " They drank wine and were meny with him." The Hebrew
is nDB'''. which is to be merry from strong drink. Sikr, "13t^>, implies the same
in Hebrew and Arabic. Sakrdii, in Arabic is "dnmken."
5 Rex convivii, arbiter bibendi, or <rv//,'rt>iri«px,os, chosen by lot. John ii. 9 :
Ho'r. Od. lib. i. 4.
Chap. IT. MUSIC. }^3
their friends, the highest functionaries of the sacerdotal order en-
joyed the lively scene. In the same manner, at a Greek enter-
taiimient, diversions of all kinds wore introduced ; and Xenophon
and I'lato inform us that Socrates, the wisest of men, amused
his friends with music, jugglers, mimics, buffoons, and whatever
could be desired for exciting cheerfulness and mirth.
Though impossible for us now to form any notion of the
character or style of Egyptian music, we may be allowed to con-
jecture that it was studied on scientific principles ; and, wiiat-
ever defects existed in the skill of ordinary performers, who
gained their livelihood by playing in public, or for the enter-
tainment of a private party, music was looked upon as an im-
portant science, and diligently studied by the priests themselves.
According to Diodorus it was not customary to make nmsic part
of their education, being deemed useless and even injurious, as
tending to render the minds of men effeminate ; but this remark
can only apply to the custom of studying it as an amusement.
Plato, who was well acquainted with the usages of the Egyptians,
says that they considered music of the greatest consequence, from
its beneficial effects upon the mind of youth ; and according to
Strabo, the children of the Egyptians were taught letters, the
songs appointed by law, and a certain kind of music, established
by government.
That the Egyj)tians were particularly fond of music, is abun-
dantly proved by the paintings in their tombs of the earliest
times ; and we even find they introduced figures performing on
the favourite instruments of the country, among the devices with
which they adorned fancy boxes or trinkets. The skill of the
p]gyptians, in the use of musical instruments, is also noticed by
Athenaeus, who says that both the Greeks and barbarians were
taught by refugees from Eg^pt, and that the Alexandrians were
the most scientific and skilful players on pipes and other in-
struments.
In the infancy of music, as Dr. Burney observes^ " no otiier
instruments were known than those of percussion, and it was.
therefore, little more than metrical." Pipes of various kinds and
G 2
84 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. II,
the flute were afterwards invented ; at first very rude, and made
of reeds, which grew in the rivers and lakes, and some of these
have been found in the Egyptian tombs. To discover, we can
scarcely say to invent, such simple instruments, required a very
slight effort. But it was long before mvisic and musical instru-
ments attained to any degree of excellence ; and the simple
instruments of early times being in time succeeded by others of
a more complicated kind, the many-stringed liarp, lyre, and other
instruments, added to the power and variety of musical sounds.
To contrive a method of obtaining perfect melody from a
smaller number of strings, by shortening them on a neck during
the performance, like our modern violin, was, unquestionably, a
more difficult task than could be accomplished in the infancy of
music, and great advances must have been already made in the
science before this could be attained, or before the idea would
suggest itself to the mind. With this principle, however, the
Egyptians were well acquainted ; and the sculptures unquestion-
ably prove it, in the frequent use of the tliree-stringed guitar.
A harp or lyre, having a number of strings, imitating various
sounds, and disposed in tlie order of notes, might be invented
even in an early stage of the art ; but a people who had not
attentively studied the nature of musical sounds would necessarily'
remain ignorant of the metliod of procuring the same tones from
a limited number of strings ; nor are our means simplified till
they become perfectly understood. It is, then, evident, not only
from the great fondness for music evinced by the early Egypt-
ians, but from the nature of the very instruments they used, that
the art was studied with great attention, and that they extended
the same minute and serious investigation to this as to other sciences.
The fabulous account of its origin, mentioned by Diodorus,
shows music to have been sanctioned, and even cultivated, by the
priests themselves, who invariably pretended to have derived
from the gods the knowledge of tiie sciences they encouraged.
Hermes or Mercury was, therefore, reputed to be the first dis-
coverer of tlie harmony and principle of voices or sounds, and
the inventor of the lyre.
86
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. H.
From his limiting the number of its chords to three, the his-
torian evidently confounds the lyre with the Egyptian guitar ;
yet this traditional story serves to attest the remote antiquity of
stringed instruments, and proves the great respect paid to music
by the Egyptian priests, who thought it not unworthy of a deity
to be its patron and inventor.
It is sufficiently evident, from the sculptures of the ancient
Egyptians, that their hired musicians were acquainted witli the
triple symphony : the harmony of instruments ; of voices ; and
of voices and instruments. Their band was variously com-
95.
1 2
The harp and double pipe.
Thebes
posed, consisting either of two harps, with the single pipe and
flute ; of the harp and double pipe, frequently with the addi-
tion of the guitar ; of a fourteen-stringed harp, a guitar, lyre,
double pipe, and tambourine ; of two harps, sometimes of different
sizes, one of seven, the other of four, strings ; of two harps of
eight chords, and a seven-stringed lyre ; of the guitar and the
square or oblong tambourine ; of the lyre, harp, guitar, double
pipe, and a sort of harp with four strings, which was held upon
the shoulder ; of the harp, guitar, double pipe, lyre, and square
CiL\p. IT,
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
87
97
nebes.
1 2
Jiarp and a smaller one of four chords.
tambourine ;* of the harp, two guitars, and the double pipe ;t of
the harp, two flutes, and a guitar ;]: of two harps and a flute ; of a
seventeen-striiiged lyre, the double-pipe, and a haqi of fourteen
chords ; of the harp, and two guitars ; or of two seven-stringed
• Woodcut 98.
I See Sacred Music.
t Woodcut 101.
88
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
\W^\
Chap. II.
MUSICAL I>'STRUMENTS.
yi)
->.
o 4 5
.Men aud women singing to llio harp, Ij-re, and double pipe.
Thtbrs
)0.
3 2
Harp and two guitars.
Thebt*.
harps and an iiistrunieiit lield in the hand, not unlike an eastern
fan,* to which were probably attached small bells, or pieces
of metal that emitted a jingling sound when shaken, like the
crescent crowned bells of our modern bands. There were many
other combinations of these various instruments ; and in the Bac-
* Woodcut 103, fig. 3.
90
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. 11.
CllAP. 11.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
91
\ r^
N-^l«
Oocf
1
o-K
•1
chic festival of Ptolemy Philaduliihus, described by Athenaeus.
more than 600 musicians were employed in the chorus, among
■whom were 300 performers on the cithara.
92
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
ClLAP. II.
103. Two harps, and another instrument, wbich perhaps emitted a jingling sound, a and b show
how tlie string.-; were wound round the pegs. Herd JIassan.
Sometimes the harp was played alone, or as an accompani-
ment to the voice ; and a band of seven or more choristers fre-
quently sang to it a favourite air, beating time with their hands
between each stanza. They also sang to other instruments,*
as the lyre, guitar, or double pipe ; or to several of them played
together, as the flute and one or more harps ; or to these last
with a lyre, or a guitar. It was not unusual for one man or one
woman to perform a solo ; and a chorus of many persons occa-
sionally sang at a private assembly without any instrument, two
or three beating time at intervals with the hand. Sometimes the
band of choristers consisted of more than twenty persons, only
two of whom responded by clapping their hands ; and in one
instance I have seen a female represented holding what was
perhaps another kind of jingling instrument.f
The custom of beating time by clapping the hands between the
stanzas is still usual in Egj'pt.
Woodcuts 99, 100, 101, and 102.
t Woodcut 104-.
Chap. II.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
93
>04. An lunnsual kind of instrument. Tliebes.
On some occasions women beat the tambourine and darabooka
(Irani, without the addition of any other instrument ; dancing or
singing to the sound ; and bearing palm branches or green twigs
in tlieir hands, they proceeded to tlie tomb of a deceased friend,
accompanied by this species of music. The same custom may
still be traced in the Friday visit to the cemetery, and in some
other funeral ceremonies among the Moslem peasants of modern
Egypt.
If it was not customary for the higher classes of Egyptians to
•^^^
105.
6 5 4 3 2 1
Women beating tambourines, and the darabooka drum (fig. 1). Thebu.
94 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. U.
learn music for the purpose of playing in society, and if few
amateur performers could be found among persons of rank, still
some general knowledge of the art must have been acquired by
a people so alive to its charms ; and the attention paid to it by
the priests regulated the taste, and prevented the introduction
of a vitiated style. Those who played at the houses of the rich,
as well as the ambulant musicians of the streets, were of the
lower classes, and made this employment the means of obtaining
their livelihood ; and in many instances both the minstrels and
the choristers were blind.*
It was not so necessary an accomplishment for the higher
classes of Egyptians as of the Greeks, who, as Cicero says, *■' con-
sidered the arts of singing and playing upon musical instruments
a very principal part of learning ; whence it is related of Epa-
minondas, who, in my judgment, was the first of all the Greeks,
that he played very well upon the flute. And, some time before,
Themistocles, upon refusing the harp at an entertainment, passed
for an uninstructed and ill-bred person. Hence Greece became
celebrated for skilful musicians ; and as all persons there learned
music, those who attained to no proficiency in it were thought
uneducated and unaccomplished." Cornelius Nepos also states
that Epaminondas "played the harp and flute, and perfectly
understood the art of dancing, with other liberal sciences," which,
" though trivial things in the opinion of the Eomans, were
reckoned highly commendable in Greece."
The Israelites also delighted in music and the dance ; and
persons of rank deemed them a necessary part of their education.
Like the Egyptians with whom they had so long resided, the Jews
carefully distinguished sacred from profane music. They in-
troduced it at public and private rejoicings, at funerals, and in
religious services ; but the character of the airs, like the words
of tlieir songs, varied according to the occasion ; and they had
canticles of mirth, of praise, of thanksgiving, and of lamentation.
Some were epithalamia, or songs composed to celebrate mar-
* As in woodcut 106,
Chap. II.
JEWISH MUSIC.
95
8
g
C
riages ; others to commemorate a victory, or the accession of a
prince ; to return thanks to the Deity, or to celebrate his praises ;
to lament a general calamity, or a private afflictian : and others,
again, were peculiar to their festive meetings. On these occa-
96 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. II.
sions they introduced the harp. lute, tabret,* and various instru-
ments, together with songs and dancing, and the guests were
entertained nearly in the same manner as at an Egyptian feast.
In the temple, and in the religious ceremonies, the Jews had
female as well as male performers, who were generally daughters
of the Levites, as the Pallaces of Thebes were either of the royal
family, or the daughters of priests ; and these musicians were
attached exclusively to the service of religion. David was not
only remarkable for his taste and skill in music, but took a de-
light in introducing it on every occasion. •' And seeing that the
Levites were numerous, and no longer employed as formerly in
carrying the boards, veils, and vessels of the tabernacle, its abode
being fixed at Jerusalem, he appointed a great part of them to
sing and play on instruments, at the religious festivals." Solomon,
again, at the dedication of the temple, employed " 120 priests,
to sound with trumpets ;" and Josephus pretends that no less
than 200.000 musicians were present at that ceremony, besides
the same number of singers, who were Levites.
The method adopted by the Egyptian priests, for preserving
their melodies, has not been ascertained ; but if their system of
notation resembled that of the Greeks, which was by disposing
the letters of the alphabet in different ways, it must have been
cumbrous and imperfect.
When hired to attend at a private entertainment, the musicians
either stood in the centre, or at one side, of the festive chamber.
and some sat cross-legged on the ground, like the Turks and
other Eastern people of the present day. They were usually
accompanied on these occasions by dancers, either men or women,
sometimes both ; whose art consisted in assuming all the grace-
ful or ludicrous gestures, which could obtain the applause, or
tend to the amusement, of the assembled guests. For music
* Comp. Luke, XV. 25, "He heard music and dancing;" and Gen. xxxi. 27,
where Laban complains that Jacob did not allow him to celebrate his departure
with a ffestire meeting, " with mirth and with soncjs, with tabret and with hai-p."
This last, however, in the Hebrew, is kinoor, -)"|33, which is rather a lyre. It
was known in the days ofSeth, Gen. iv. 21, and of Job, xxi. 12.
fiiAP. 11. SONG OF MANEROS. 97
and dancing were considered as essential at their entertainments,
as among the Cireeks; but it is by no means certain tliat tliese
diversions counteracted the eftect of wine, as Plutarch imagines ;
a sprightly air is more likely to have invited another glass;
and sobriety at a feast was not one of the objects of the lively
Egyi)tians.
Some of their songs, it is true, bore a plaintive character, but
not so the generality of those introduced at their festive meetings.
That called Maneros is said by Herodotus to be the same as the
Linus of the Greeks, " which was known in I'hoenicia, Cyprus,
and otlier places ;" and was peculiarly adapted to mournful
occasions. Plutarch, however, asserts that it was suited to
festivities and the pleasures of the table, and that, " amidst the
diversions of a sociable party, the Egyptians made the room
resound with the song of Maneros." "We may. therefore,
conclude that the Egyptians had two songs, bearing a name
resembling INIaneros, which liave been confounded together by
Greek writers ; and that one of these bore a lugubrious, the
other a lively, character.
The airs and words were of course made to suit the occasion,
either of rejoicing and festivity, of solemnity, or of lamentation ;
and all their agricultural and other occupations had, as at the
present day, their appropriate songs.
At the religious ceremonies and processions, certain musicians
attached to tlie priestly order, and organised for this special
purpose, were employed ; who were considered to belong exclu-
sively to the service of the temple, as each military band of their
army to its respective corps.
"When an individual died, it was usual for the women to issue
forth from the house, and throwing dust and nuul u})on their
heads, to utter cries of lamentation as they wainlered tlirough the
streets of the town, or amidst the cottages of the village. They
sang a doleful dirge in token of their grief; they, by turns, ex-
pressed their regret for the loss of their relative or friend, and
their praises of his virtues ; and this was frequently done to the
time and measure of a plaintive, though not inharmonious, air.
VOL. I. H
98
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
Sometimes the tambourine was introduced, and the " mournful
song" was accompanied by its monotonous sound. On these
occasions, the services of hired performers were uncalled for ;
though during the period of seventy days, while the body was in
the hands of the embalmers, mourners* were employed, who sang
the same plaintive dirge to the memory of the deceased ; a custom
prevalent also among the Jews, when preparing for a funeral. |
At their musical soirees, men or women played the harp, lyre,
guitar, and the single or double pipe, but the flute appears to
have been confined to men ; and the tambourine and darabooka
drum were generally appropriated to the other sex.
The darabooka drum is rarely met with in the paintings of
Thebes, being only used on certain occasions, and chiefly, as at the
present day, by the peasant women, and the boatmen of the
Nile. It was evidently the same as the modern one, which is
made of parchment, strained and glued over a funnel-shaped case
!07. The darabooka of modern Egyjit.
of pottery, which is a hollow cylinder, with a truncated cone
attached to it. It is beaten with the hand, and when relaxed,
the parchment is braced by exposing it a few moments to the sun,
or the warmth of a fire. It is generally supported by a band
£xod.
Herod, ii. 8G.
t Matt. is. 23 ; Jer. xvi. 5, 7.
Chap. II.
DKU.MS AND CYMBALS.
99
round the neck, of the performer, who, with tlie fingers of the
right hand, plays the air, and with the left grasps the lower edge
of the head, in ord' r to l)eat the bass, as in the tambourine ;
which we find from tiio sculptures was played in the same manner
by the ancient Egyptians.
They had also cymbals, and cylindrical maces (crotala, or
clappers), two of which were struck together, and probably
emitted a sharp metallic sound. The cymbals were of mixed
metal, apparently brass, or a compound of brass and silver, and
of a form exactly resendiling those of modern times, though
smaller, being only seven, or five inches and a half in diameter.
The handle was also of brass, bound with leather, string, or any
similar substance, and being inserted in a small hole at the sum-
los.
Egj-ptian cjnnlial?, 5f inches in diameter. British ifuseum.
niit, was secured Ijy bending buck tiie two ends. The same kind
of instrument is used by the modern inhabitants of the conntr}' ;
and from them have been borrowed tlie very small cymbals
played with the finger and thumb, which supply the place of
castanets in the almeli dance. These wore the origin of the
Spanish castanet. having been introduced into tliat country bv
the !Moors. and afterwards altered in form, and made of chestnut
(castafia) and other wood instead of metal.
H 'Z
%
100 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. II.
The cymbals of modern Egypt are chiefly used by the attend-
ants of shekhs' tombs, who travel through the country at certain
periods of the year, to exact charitable donations from the credu-
lous, or the devout, among the ]\Ioslems, by the promise of
some blessing from the indulgent saint. Drums and some other
noisy instruments, which are used at marriages and on other
occasions, accompany the cymbals, but these last are more
peculiarly appropriated to the service of the shekhs, and the ex-
ternal ceremonies of religion, as among the ancient Egyptians ;
and a female, whose coffin contained a pair of cymbals, was
described in the hieroglyphics of the exterior as the minstrel
of a deity.
The cylindrical maces, or clappers, were also admitted among
the instruments used on solemn occasions ; and they frequently
formed part of the military band, or regulated the dance. They
varied slightly in form ; and some were of wood, or of shells ;
others of brass, or some sonorous metal, having a straight handle,
surmounted by a head, or other ornamental device. Sometimes
the handle was slightly curved, and double, ■R'ith two heads at
the upper extremitj' ; but in all cases the performer held one in
each hand ; and the sound depended on their size, and the
material of which they were made. Wlien of wood they cor-
responded to the crotala of the Greeks, a supposed invention of
the Sicilians ; and reported to have been used for frightening
away the fabulous birds of Stymphalus ; and the paintings of the
Etruscans show they were adopted by them, as by the Egyptians,
in the dance. They were probably the same as the round-
headed pegs, resembling large nails, seen in the hands of some
dancing figures in the paintings of Ilerculaneum ; and Herodotus
describes the crotala played as an accompaniment to the flute by
the votaries of the Eg^'ptian Diana, on their way to her temple
at Bubastis.
Though the Egyptians were fond of buffoonery and gesticula-
tion, they do not seem to have had any public show which can
be said to resemble a tlieatre. The stage is allowed to have
been purely a Greek invention ; and to dramatic entertainments.
ClLAP. I).
CLAPPERS.
101
5? K
c
to
c
.C9
bO
a
CO
c
which were originally of two kinds, comedy and tragedy, wore
added the ancient Italian pantomime. The Egyptian common
people had certain jocose songs, accompanied with mimic and ex-
travagant gestures, containing appropriate and laughable remarks
on the bystanders; exteni))()ie sallies of wit, like the Fescennine
verses of ancient Italy, which were also peculiar to the country
people. Their object was to provoke a retort from him they
addressed, or to supply one if unanswered ; a custom still con-
102
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS;
Chap. II.
tinued by the modern Egyptians ; who have adopted the high
foolscaps of pahn leaves, frequently with tassels, or foxes' tails
attached to them, and the alternate verse, or couplets, of two
performers, who dance and sing in recitative to the monotonous
sound of a hand-drum. They also went, like strolling players,
110.
Egyptian Buffoon*.
Thebes.
from village to village, and danced in the streets to amuse passers
by ; and often took up a position by the steps of some grand
mansion, where if they could only spy some children or nurserj'
maids at a window, they performed their parts with redoubled
energy, and holding up their hands towards them made compli-
mentary remarks in tli^^eir songs, with the same keen longing for
hakshish as their descendants.
Some of these buffoons were foreigners, generally blacks from
Africa, whose scanty dress, made of a piece of bull's hide, added
not a little to their grotesque appearance ; purposely increased
by a small addition resembling a tail. {Woodcut 111.) They
also had tags, like beads, suspended from their elbows ; which
were often put on by Egyptian performers on festive occa-
sions ; as they are still by the people of Ethiopia and Kordofan
in their dances ; and they are shown by the vases to have been
adopted by the Greeks in bacchanalian and other ceremonies.
The tail was also given to Greek fauns.
/b
a
•a
a
a
c
■a
104
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
Ill their military bands some of the instruments differed from
those of ordinary musicians, but the sculptures have not recorded
all the various kinds used in the Egyptian army. The principal
ones appear to have been the trumpet and drum : the former
used to marshal the troops, summon them to the charge, and
direct them in their evolutions ; the latter to regulate and
enliven their march.
The trumpet, like that of the Israelites, was about one foot
and a half long, of very simple form, apparently of brass ; and
when sounded, it was held with both hands, and either used
singly, or as part of the military band, with the drum and other
instruments.
Thebes.
12 o 4
112. . _^ A military band.
. The trumpet was particularly, though not exclusively, appro-
priated to martial purposes. It was straight, like the Eoman
tuba, or our common trumpet, and was used in Egypt at the
earliest times. In Greece it was also known before the Trojan
war ; it was reputed to have been the invention of Minerva,
or of Tyrrhenus, a son of Hercules ; and in later times it was
generally adopted, both as a martial instrument, and by the am-
bulant musicians of the streets. In some parts of Egypt a preju-
dice existed against the trumpet ; and the people of Busiris
Chap. II.
MILITARY BAND. TIILMIM.T. DKLM.
105
The trurupet. Tltebti.
and Lvcopolis would never use it, because the sound resenibled
the braying of an ass, which, being the
emblem of Typhon, gave them very un-
pleasant sensations, by reminding them of
the Evil Being. The same kind of notion
prevents the Moslems using bells, wliicli,
if they do not actually bring bad spirits
into the house, keep away good ones ; and
many seem to think that dogs are also in
league with the powers of darkness.
The Israelites had trumpets for warlike,
as well as sacred purposes, for festivals
and rejoicings ; and the office of sounding ''^•
them was not only honourable, but was committed solely to the
priests. Some were of silver, which were suited to all occasions ;
others were animals' horns (like the original cornu of the Romans),
and these are stated to have been employed at the siege of
Jericho. The Greeks had six kinds of trumpets ; the Romans
four, — the tuba, cornu, buccina. and lituus. and, in ancient times,
the concha, so called from having been originally a shell — which
were the only instruments employed by
them for military purposes, and in this
they differed from the Greeks and
Egyptians.
The only drum represented in tlie
sculptures is a long drum, very similar
to one of the totniomx of India. It was
about two feet or two feet and a half in
length, and was beaten with the hand,
like the Roman tympanum. The case
was of wood or copper, covered at either
end with parchment or leather, braced
by cords extending diagonally over the
exterior of the cylinder, and when played,
it was slung by a band round the neck
of the drummer, who during the march
The dmra. Thebu
106
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
Uo. Mode of slinging the drum behind
them, when on a march.
carried it in a vertical position at his back. Like the trumpet,
it was chiefly employed in the army ;
and the evidence of the sculptures
is confirmed by Clement of Alex-
andria, who says the drum was
used by the Egyptians in going to
war.* It was also common at the
earliest period of which we have
any account from the sculptures of
Thebes, or about the sixteenth cen-
tury before our era.
When a body of troops marched
to the beat of drum, the drummer
was often stationed in the centre or
the rear, and sometimes immediately
behind the standard bearers ; the trumpeter's post being gene-
rally at the head of the regiment, except when summoning them
to form or advance to the charge ; but the drummers were not
always alone, or confined to the rear and centre ; and when
forming part of the band, they marched in the van, or, with the
other musicians, were drawn up on one side while the troops
defiled.
Besides the long drum, the Egyptians had another, not very
unlike our own, both in form and size, which was much broader
in proportion to its length than the tomtom just mentioned, being
two feet and a half high, and two feet broad. It was beaten with
two wooden sticks ; but as there is no representation of the mode
of using it, we are unable to decide whether it was suspended
horizontally and struck at both ends, as the drum of the same
kind still used at Cairo, or at one end only, like our own ;
though, from the curve of the sticks, I am inclined to think it
was slung and beaten as the tamboor of modern Egypt. Some-
times the sticks were straight, and consisted of two parts, the
handle and a thin round rod, at whose end a small knob pro-
* Clemens Alex. Stromat. ii. 164.
Chap. H.
DRUMS.
107
jected, for the purpose of fastening the leather pad with which
the (Iniiii was struck ; they were about a foot in length, and,
lie.
Drnm-stick.
Berlin Museum.
judging from the forra of the handle of one fn the Berlin !Mu-
seuin. we may conclude they belonged, like those above men-
tioned, to a drum beaten at both ends. Each extremity of the
drum was covered with red leather, braced with catgut strings
passing through small holes in its broad margin, and e.xtending
in direct lines over the copper body, which, from its convexity,
was similar in shape to a cask.
In order to tighten the strings, and thereby to brace the drum,
a piece of catgut extended round each end, near the edge of the
leather ; and crossing the strings at right angles, and being
twisted round each separately, braced them all in proportion as
it was drawn tight : but this was only done when the leather and
the strings had become relaxed by constant use ; and as this
piece of catgut was applied to either end, they had the means of
doubling the power of tension on every string.
ij'
Fig. 1. The drum.
2. shows how the strings were braced. 3. The sticks.
Found at Tficbes.
Besides the ordinary forms of Egyptian instruments, several
were constructed according to a particular taste or accidental
caprice. Some were of the most simple kind, others of ver}-
108
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II,
118.
Harpers painted in the tomb of Remeses HI.,
costly materials, and many were richly ornamented with bril-
liant colours and fancy figures ; particularly the harps and lyres.
The harps varied greatly in form, size, and the number of their
CtL\l\ II.
HARPS.
loy
kin'«ii as l)iuc<.-.~, i^r ilie Harper's tomb. T/ilIk^.
strings ; they are represented in the ancient painting.s with four,
six. seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, fourteen, seventeen,
twenty, twenty-one, and twenty-two chords : that in the Paris
110
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
1 19. Head of a harp brought by me from Thebes, and now in the British Museum.
collection appears also to have had twenty-one ; and the head of
another I found at Thebes was made for seventeen strings. They
were frequently very large, even exceeding the height of a man,
tastefully painted with the lotus and other flowers, or with fancy
devices ; and those of the royal minstrels were fitted up in the
most splendid manner, adorned with the head or bust of the
monarch himself : like those in Bruce's tomb at Thebes.
1 2 3
; 20. A richly painted harp un a stand, a man beating time with his hands, and a nlayer On the guitar.
Chap. II. HARPS. 1 { {
The oldest hi\r\m found in the sculptures are in a tomb, near
tlie pvraniids of Cieezeli, upwards of four thousand years old. Tliev
are mure rude in sliape than those usually represented ; and tliuugh
it is impossible to ascertain the precise number of their chords,*
they do not appear to have exceeded seven or eight, and are
fastened in a different maimer from ordinary Egyptian harps.
These date long before the Shepherd invasion, and the fact of
the Egyptians being already sufficiently advanced to combine
the harmony of various instruments with the voice shows they
were not indebted for music to that Asiatic race. The combina-
tion of harps and lyres of great compass with the flute, single
and double pi|)es, guitars, and tambourines, prove the proficiency
to which they had arrived ; and even in the reign of Amo.'jis, the
first king of the 1 8th dynasty, about 1570 B.C., nine luindred
years before Terpander's time, the ordinary musicians of Egypt
used harps of fourteen, and lyres of seventeen strings.
The Greeks were indebted to Asia for their stHnged instru-
ments, and even for the cithara (»,(0apa),which was originally styled
" Asiatic," and was introduced from Lesbos. It had only seven
chords, till Timotheus of Miletus added four others, about 400 b.c:
and Terpander, who lived 200 years after Homer, was the first
to lay down any laws for this"" instrument, some time before they
were devised for the flute or pipe. The harp, indeed, seems always
to have been unknown to the Greeks.
The strings of Egyptian harps were of catgut, as of tlie
lyres still used in 2subia. Some harps stood on the ground
while played, having an even, broad, base ; others were placed
on a stool, or raised upon a stand, or limb, attached to the lower
part. I Men and women often used harps of the same compass,
and even the smallest, of four strings, were played by men ; if
but the largest were mostly appropriated to the latter, who stood
during the performance. These large harps liad a flat base, so as
to stand without supi)ort, like those in Bruce's tomb ;§ and a lighter
kind was also squared for the same purpose, || but, when played,
was frequently inclined towards the performer, who suj)ported
*Woodcut94. t Woodcut.s96, 97, 121, 122. + Woodcuts 96, 97, 103.
§ Woodcuts 118, llSa, and 99. || Woodcut 101.
112
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
121.
1 2
Minstrel standing, while playing the harp.
Dendera,
122.
Harp raised on a stand, or support.
Thebei.
Chap. II. IIAKPS. 113
the iiistrumeiit in the most conveiiieiit position.* 3Iaiiy luirj)s
were of wood, covered witii bull's hide, j or with leather,
soinetinips of a green or red colour, and painted with various
devices, vestiges of which may be traced in that of the Taris
collection ; J and small ones were sometimes made, like many
Li reek lyres, of tortoise shell. ( JVoodculs 9fi, 97.)
The Efjyptians had no means of shortening the harp strings
during the performance, by any contrivance resembling our
modern pedals, so as to introduce occasional sharps and flats;
they could, therefore, only play in one key, until they tuned the
instrument afresh, by turning the pegs. Indeed it was not more
necessary in f iieir liai j) than in the lyre, since the former was always
combined with other instruments, except when useil as a mere
accompaniment to the voice. But they seem occasionally to have
supplied this deficiency by a double set of pegs ; and their great
skill in music during so many centuries would necessarily suggest
some means of obtaining half notes.
llie Egyptian harj)s have another imperfection, for which it is
not easy to account, — the absence of a pole, and consequently of
a support to the bar. or upper limb, in w'hich the pegs were fixed ;
and it is difficult to conceive how, without it, the chords could have
been properly tightened, or the bar sufliciently strong to resist
the effect of their tension ; particularly in those of triangular
form. The pole is not only wanting in those of the paintings,
but in all that have been found in the tombs ; and even in that of
the Paris Collection, which, having twenty-one strings, was one
of the highest ])ower they had, since they are seldom represented
on the monuments with more than two octaves. This last, how-
ever, may hold an intermediate place between a harp and the
many triangular stringed instruments of the p]gyptians.
The harp was thought to be especially suited for the service of
religion ; and it was used on many occasions to celebrate the ])raises
of the gods. It was even represented in the hands of the deities
themselves, as well as the tambourine and the sacred sistrum.
* Woodcuts 95, 98, 100. t Woodcuts 97, fig. 2, 98, 100, 101.
I Woodcut 123.
VOL. I. I
114
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
123.
Harp of the Paris Collection.
The Egyptian lyre was not less varied in form, and the number
of its chords, than the harp, and they ornamented it in many
ways, as their taste suggested ; some with the head of an animal
carved in wood, as the horse, ibex, or gazelle ; while others were
of more simple shape.
Mercury has always obtained tlie credit of its invention, both
among the Egyptians and the Greeks ; and Apollodorus gravely
explains how it came into his head : " The Nile," he says, " after
having overflowed the whole land of Egypt, returned once more
within its banks, leaving on the shore a great number of dead
animals of various kinds, and among the rest a tortoise. Its flesh
was quite dried up by the hot Egyptian sun, so that nothing
remained within the shell but nerves and cartilages ; and these,
being braced and contracted by the heat, had become sonorous.
Mercury, walking by the river side, happened to strike his foot
against this shell, and was so pleased with the sound produced,
CiLU'. II.
LYKF.S.
115
that the idea of a lyre presented itself to his imagination. lie
therefore constructed the instrument in the form of a tortoise, and
strung it with tlio sinews of doail animals."
181.
T'tebfS .
Lyre oruameuted vnth the head of an animaL
Many Egyptian lyres were of considerable power, having
5. 7, 10, and 18 strings. Tliey were usually supported between
the elbow and the side ; and tlie mode of playing them was witli
the hand, or sometimes with the plectrum, which was made of
bone, ivory, or wood, and was often attached to one limb of tlie
lyre by a string.
The Greeks also adopted both methods, but more generally
used the plectrum ; and in the frescoes of llerculaiieuni are lyres
of 3, 6, 9, and 11 strings played with it , of 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10
with the hands ; and of 9 and 1 1 strings played with the plectrum
and fingers at the same time.
The strings were fastened at the upper end to a cross bar con-
necting the two limbs or sides, and at the lower end tliey were
attached to a raised ledge or hollow sounding board, about the
J 2
116
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
125.
Lyies played Nvith and witbuut the plectrum.
Thebes.
centre of the body of the instrument, which was entirely of wood.
In the Berlin and Leyden museums are lyres of this kind, which,
with the exception of the strings, are perfectly preserved. That
126
Lyre in the Berlin 'Museum.
ClIAC. 1 1.
LYllES.
117
in the former collection has the two limbs terminating in horses'
heads ; and in form and principle, and in the alternate long and
short chords, resembles some of those represented in the paint-
ings ;* thongli tiie board to wliich the strings are fastened is
nearer the bottom of the instrument, and the number of cliords
is 13 instead of 10.
"We have thus an opportunit) of comparing real Egyi)tian lyres
witii those represented at Tiiebes in tiie reign of Amunoph, and
other kings, who reigned more than three tliousand years ago.
The body of the Berlin lyre is about ten inches high, and fourteen
and a half broad, and the total height of the instrument is two
feet. That of Leyden is smaller, and less ornamented ; l)nr it
is equally well preserved, and
highly interesting from a hie-
ratic inscription written in ink
upon the front. It had no ex-
tra sounding board ; its hol-
low body sufficiently answered
this purpose ; and the strings
passed over a moveable bridge,
and were secured at the bottom
by a small metal ring or staple.
Both these lyres were entirely
of wood ; and one of the limbs,
like many represented in the
paintings, was longer than the
opposite one, so that the instru-
ment might be tuned by sliding
the strings upwards along the
bar, as well as round it, wliich \\
was the usual method, and is
continued to the present day in
^, T,r. , , c 1 -v- 1 • 127. Utc of the I.cyi1ot, >Ilec(ion.
the Aisirka ot modern JNubia. Fig! 2 shows the lower end.
In Greece the lyre had at first only four chords, till tiiF ^xUli-
/la-
Woodcuts 98, 125.
118
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chaf. U.
tional three were introduced by Amphion, who seems to have
borrowed his knowledge of music from Lydia ; and was. as
usual, reputed to have been taught by Mercury. Terpander
(670 B.C.) added several more notes ; and the lyres represented
at Herculaneum have 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 1 1 chords.
Numerous other instruments, resembling harps or lyres in
principle, were common in Egypt, which varied so much in
form, compass, and sound, that tliey were considered quite dis-
tinct from them, and had each its own name. They have been
found in the tombs, or are represented in the paintings of Thebes
and other places. Those of a triangular shape were held under
the arm while played, and, like the rest, were used as an accom-
128. Triangular instrument. Thebes.
129. Another, held under the arm. Vakieh.
paniment to the voice ; they were mostly light, but when of any
weight were suspended by a band over the shoulder of the per-
former.
The strings were of catgut, as in the harps ; and those of woodcut
130, Jig. 1, were so well preserved that, when found at Thebes,
in 1823, they sounded on being touched, though buried two or three
thousand years. It was an instrument of great compass, having
twenty strings wound round a rod at the lower end. which was
Chap. II.
LYRES.
Hi)
probably turned in order to tighten them ; and the frame was of
wood, covered with leather, on which could be traced a few
130.
Pig. 1 found at Thebes in 1823.
hieroglyphics. That in fig. 2, given by Professor Rosellini, has
the peculiarity of being tuned by pegs ; but its ten strings are
fastened to a rod in the centre of its sounding-board, as in other
instruments.
Another, which may be called a standing-lyre, was of great
height. It consisted of a round body, probably of wood and
metal, in the form of a vase, from which two upright limbs rose,
supporting the transverse bar to which the upper ends of its
eight strings were fastened ; and the minstrel sang to it, as he
touched the chords with his two hands.
A still more jingling instrument was used as an accompani-
ment to the lyre. It consisted of several bars, probably of wire,
attached to a frame, or some sounding body ; which were struck
by a rod held in both hands by the performer. ( Woodcut 132.)
3Iore common was a light instrument of four strings, which
120
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
131.
A standing lyre.
Tel el Ainama.
132.
An instrument played as an accompaniment to the lyre. Tel el Amarria
was carried on the shoulder while played, and was mostly used
by women, who chanted to it as the Jews did " to the sound
Chai-. II.
OTHER IN'STRUMENTS.
121
133.
A light kind of instrument borne on the shoulder.
Thebes
of the (7iabl) viol " (Amos, vi. 5). Some of these have been
found in the tombs of Thebes, and the most j)erfect one is that
in the British Museum, which is 41 inches long, tlie neck 22
and the breadth of the body 4 inclies. Its exact form, the j)e2:s.
the rod to wiiich the cliords were fastened, and even the parch
ment covering its wooden body and serving as a sounding-board
1.14. Instrument differing from the harj), lyre, and guitar. lirilish .Viiseum.
122
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
Still remain, and all it wants are the four strings. The mode of
fastening the strings to the rod is not quite evident, and they
seem to have passed through the parchment to the rod lying
beneath it, which has notches at intervals to receive them. It is
of hard wood, apparently acacia ; and sufficient remains of one of
the strings to show they were of catgut.
Similar in principle to this was a small instrument of five
chords, having a hollow wooden body, over which was stretched
a covering of parchment, or of thin wood ; and the strings ex-
tended in the same manner from a rod in the centre, to the pegs
at the end of the neck.
135.
The instminent restored.
Three have been found in the tombs ; one of which is in the
Berlin, and two in the British Museum ; the former with the five
pegs entire, and the body composed of three pieces of sycamore
136.
¥iy;s.. 1. 3. Instruments in the British Muteum.
Fig. 2. In the Berlin Museum.
Chap. II.
GUITARS.
123
wood. Tlieir whole length is 2 feet, the neck about 1 foot 3
niches, in the under side of which are the five pegs, placed in a
direct line, one after the other. At the opposite end of the body
are two iioles for fastening the rod that secured the strings.
Besides harjjs and lyres, the Egyptians had a sort of guitar
with three chords, which have been strangely supposed to cor-
respond to the three seasons of the Egjptian year : and here
again Thoth or ^lercury has received the credit of the invention :
for the instrument liaving only three strings, and yet equalling
the power of those of great compass, was considered by the
llgyptians worthy of the God ; whose intervention on this and
similar occasions is, in fact, only an allegorical mode of expressing
the intellectual sii'ts communicated from the Divinitv to man.
The guitar consisted of two parts : a long Hat neck, or handle,
and a hollow oval body, either wholly of wood, or covered with
parchment, having the upper surface perforated with holes to
allow the sound to escape. Over this body, and the whole length
of the handle, were stretched three
strings of catgut, secured at the
upper extremity either by the
stune number of pegs, or by pass-
ing through an aperture in the
handle ; they were then bound
round it. and tied in a knot. It
does not appear to have had any
bridge, but the chords were fast-
ened at the lower end to a trian-
gular piece of wood or ivory,
which raised them to a sutKcient
height ; and they were sometimes
elevated at the upper extremity
of the handle by means of a small
crossbar, inunediately below each 137. Female plaj-ing the guiur. Thebes.
of the ajiertures where the strings were passed through and
tightened.* This answered the same purpose as the depressed
* Woodcuts 96, 98, 101, 138, 139.
124
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IT.
end of our modern guitar ; and, indeed, since the neck was in a
straight line with the body of the instrument, some contrivance
of the kind was absolutely required.
The length of the liandle was from twice, to thrice, that
of the body ; and the whole instrument measured about 4
feet, the breadth of the body being equal to half its length.
It was struck with the plectrum, which was attached by a
string to the neck, and the performers usually stood as they
played. It was considered equally suited to men or women ;
and some danced while they touched its strings, supporting it on
the right arm. It was sometimes slung by a band round the
neck, like the modern Spanish guitar, to which it also corre-
sponded in being an accompaniment to the voice, though this did
not prevent its being part of a band with other instruments.*
138. Dancing -while playing the guitar. Thebes. 139. Supported by a strap. Tlicbes.
It is from an ancient instrument of this kind, sometimes called
kithara (^tflapa). that the modern name guitar {chitarra) has
been derived ; though the cithara of the Greeks and Romans, in
early times, at least, was a lyre. The Egyptian guitar may be
* Woodcuts 96, 98, 100, 101.
Chap. II.
GUIT.VIIS.
125
140.
An instrument like Uib guitar found
at Thebes.
Ciilled a lute, but it does not appear to correspond to the tliree-
stringcd lyre of (J recce.
An instrument of an oval form, with a circular or cylindrical
handle, was found at Thebes, not altogetiier luilike the guitar ;
but, owing to the imperfect state
of its preservation, nothing could
be ascertained respecting the pegs.
or the mode of tightening the
chords. The wooden bodv was
faced with leather, the handle ex-
tending down it to the lower
end, and part of the string re-
mained which attached the plec-
trum. Three small holes indicated
the place where the chords were se-
cured, and two others, a short dis-
tance above, ajipear to have been
intended for fastening some kind of bridge.
AVire strings were not used by the Egyptians in any of their
instnnnents, catgut being alone employed, and the twang of this
in the warlike bow doubtless led to its adoption in the peaceful
lyre, owing to the accidental discovery of its musical sound ; for
men hunted animals, and killed each otlier. with the bow and
arrow, long before they recited verses, or indulged in music. It
is. therefore, not surprising that the Arabs, a nation of hunters,
were the inventors of the monochordiutn. an instrument of the most
imperfect kind (except when the skill of a Paganini is employed
to command its tones) ; for. witli all the accumulated practice of
ages, the modern Cairenes have not succeeded in mak.i.ng their
one-stringed rahub a tolerable accompaniment to the voice. Xo
doubt the instrument Avas very ancient ; for, being used by the
reciters of poems, it evidently belonged to the early bards, the
first musicians of every countr}- : and the wild Montenegrins
still sing their primitive war and love songs to the sound of the
one-stringed gfishi. handed ftown to them from the " wizards "' of
the ancient Slavonians.
126 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. 11.
If we are surprised at the number of stringed instruments of
the Egyptians (and many more are of course unknown to us),
and if we wonder what sort of tones, and what variety of sounds,
could be obtained from them, what shall we think of those men-
tioned by the Greeks, who seem to have adopted every one they
could obtain from other countries ? Some, as the phorminx,
barbiton, and other lyres, are known ; the first of which, accord-
ing to Clemens, was not very different from the cithara ; but the
bare recital of the names of the rest is bewildering.
There were the nahlum, sambuca,* pandurum, magadis, trigon
(one of the three-cornered instruments) Phcenicica, pectis,
scindapsus, enneachordon (" of nine strings "), the square shaped
psithyra or ascarum, heptagona (septangles) psaltery, spadix,
pariambus, clepsiambus, jambyce, epigoneum, and many more ;
and even most Jewish instruments are uncertain, as the kithams
or harp, " the ten stringed " ashur, the triangular samhuke, or
sabka, the 7iabl or viol, the kiiinoor or lyre of six or nine strings,
and the psanterin or psaltery. And though the last is said to
have had twelve notes, and to have been played with the fingers,
and the ashur, or ten stringed viol, to have been played with the
bow (or rather plectrum), we have no definite idea of their ap-
pearance ; so that the Egyptian paintings give by far the best
insight into the instruments used in those early times.
The flute was of great antiquity ; for in a tomb near the
Great Pyramid, built more than four thousand years ago, is a con-
cert of vocal and instrumental music, where two harps, a pipe, a
flute, and several voices are introduced.!
Li Greece it was at first very simple, "with few holes," which
were limited to four, until Diodorus of Thebes, in BcEotia, added
others, and made a lateral opening for the mouth. It was
originally of reed ; afterwards of bone or ivory, and covered with
bronze. But even this improved instrument was very small ;
and I have seen part of one, measuring 5i inches in length and
* Described by Athenreusas a " ship with a ladder placed over it ;" by Suidas,
as a triaagiilar instrument,
t Woodcut 94.
Chap. 11. FLUTES. PIPES. 127
^ an inch in diameter, broken off at the fifth hole ; the first of
the five liolos being distant only H inch from that of the mouth.
The Egyptian Hute was of great length ; for, reaching the
ground when the performer was seated, it
could not be less than 2 feet 3 inches ; and
some were so long that, when playing, he
was obliged to extend his arms below his
waist, to touch the holes.* Those who played
it generally sat on the ground ; and in every
instance I have met with they are men.
It was made of reed, of wood, of bone, or of
ivory ; and from the word schi, written over
the instrument in the hieroglyphics, which is
the same as its Coptic name, we may sup-
.. • • n i.u„ 1 u e Flute-plavcr. The flute is
pose it was ongmally the leg-bone oi some of great length.
animal. The Latin tibia has the same "^- '^'^^^■
meaning ; and flutes are said to have been made in Boeotia of those
hollow bones. The Egyptians probably had several kinds of flutes,
some suited to mournful, others to festive, occasions, like the
Greeks ; and it is evident they used them both at banquets and
religious ceremonies. But no Egyptian deity is represented
playing the flute ; and the gods and goddesses may have felt the
same aversion to it as Minerva, when she perceived '" the de-
formed appearance of her mouth," — an allegory signifying,
according to Aristotle, that it " interfered with mental reflection,"
and had most immoral effects, which in these ignorant days we
are unable to perceive.
The pipe was of equal antiquity with tlie flute,! '^"^ ''^"
longed also to male performers ; but, as it is seldom represented
at concerts, and all those discovered are of common reed,
it appears not to have been in great repute. In most countries
it has been the instrument of the peasantry ; but if the pipe
•' made of the straw of barley " was the invention of Osiris, it does
not speak well for the musical talents of that deity. It was a
» WoodcuU 94, 141. t Woodcut 94
128
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
Straight tube, without any increase at the mouthpiece, and when
plaj-ed was held with both hands. Its length did not exceed a
foot and a half: two in the British Museum are 9 and 15 inches
long, and those in the Collection at Leyden vary from 7 to 15
inches. Some have three, others four, holes, as is the case with
fourteen of those at Leyden ; and one at the British Museum had
a small mouthpiece of reed or tliick straw, inserted into the hollow
of the pipe, the upper end so compressed as to leave a very
small aperture for the admission of the breath.
(9 inches long )
la
\b
142.
2 (15 inches lung.
Reed pipes, of Mr. Salt's Collection, now in the British Museum.
The double pipe was quite as common in Egypt, as in Greece.
It consisted of two tubes, one played by the right, the other by
the left hand, the latter giving a deep sound for the base, the
right a sharp tone for the tenor. The double zummdra of the
modern Egyptians is a rude imitation of it, but its piping harsh-
ness and monotonous drone exclude it even from their imperfect
bands ; and it is only used by the boatmen of the Nile, and by the
peasants, wlio seem to think it a suitable accompaniment to the te-
dious camel's pace. Fortunately this national instrument delights
143.
1 2
^^'onlan dancing, while playing the double pipe.
Titebcf.
CiiAP. II. SACRED MUSIC. 129
its iuliiiirers out of doors, like the bagpipes of the Abbruzzi and
t)ther countries, which, at a little distance, it so nuich resembles.
The double, like the single pipe, was at first of reed, and
afterwards of wood and other materials ; and it was introduced
both on solemn and festive occasions among the Egyi)tians, as
among the (_Jreeks. ^len, but more frequently women, per-
formed upon it, occasionally dancing as they played ; and, from
its repeated occurrence in the sculptures of Thebes, it was
evidently jireferred to fhe single pipe.
The tambourine was a favourite instrument in religious cere-
monies and at private banquets. It was jjlayed by men and
women, but more usually by the latter, who often danced and
sang to its sound ; and it was used as an accompaniment to other
instruments.* It was of three kinds ; one circular, like our
own ; another square or oblong ; and the third consisted of two
squares, separated by a bar ; all of which were beaten by the
hand ;f but there is no appearance of balls, or moveable pieces of
metal attached to the frame, as in the Greek and modern tam-
bourine. The taph, " timbrel," or '•• tabret " of the Jews was
the same instriunent.J and was of very early use among them,
as well as the harp, even before they '" went down into Egypt ;"
and the Jewish, like the Egyptian, women, danced to its sound.
Nearly all their instruments were admitted by the Egyptians
into their sacred music, as the harp, lyre, flute, double pipe,
tambourine, cymbals, and guitar ; and neither the tnmipet,
drum, nor clappers, were excluded from the religious processions
in which the military were engaged. The harp, lyre, and tam-
bourine performed a part in the services of the temple ; and two
goddesses in the frieze at Dendera are represented playing the
harp and tambourine, in honour of Athor, the P^gyptian Venus.
The priests, bearing sacred emblems, often walked in procession
to the sound of the flute ; and, excepting those of Osiris at
Abydus, the sacred rites of an Egyptian deity did not forbid
the introduction of the harp and flute, or the voice of singers.
* Woodcuts 98, 121. t Woodcuts 105, 151.
I Geu. xxi. .'7; Exod. xv. 20; Job xxi. 12; Judges xi. 34; 1 ."^nm. xviii. 6.
VOL. I. K
130
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
The harp, indeed, was considered particularly suited to religious
purposes ; the title " minstrels of Amun " applied to some
harpers, and the two performers before the god in the tomb of
Remeses III., show the honour in which it was held ; and it was
played either alone, or in combination with other instruments.
The minstrel often chanted as he touched its strings ; and the
harp, guitar, and two flutes joined in a sacred air, while the high
priest offered incense to the deity. The crotala, or clappers, were
also used with the flute during pilgrimages and processions to the
shrine of a god, accompanied by choristers who chanted hymns
in his honour.
144.
14 5
Sacred musicians, and a priest offering incense. Leyden Museum
The Jews, in like manner, regarded music as indispensable
for religious rites ; their favourite instruments were the harp,
lute or psaltery, and ten-stringed ashur, the tab ret, trumpet,
cornet, cymbals, and others ; * and many " singing men and
* Psalm X3xiii. 2; Ixxxi. 2. 1 Chron. xvi. 5; and xsv. 1. 2 Sam. vi. 5.
Esod. XV. 20, &c.
Chap. If.
SISTRUM.
131
singing; women
attended in the processions to the Jewish
sanctuary.*
The sistrura was the sacred instrument jjar excellence, and
belonged as iteculiarly to the service of the temple, as the small
tinkling bell to that of a Roman Catholic chapel. Some pretend
it was used to frighten away Typhon, and the rattling noise of
its moveable bars was sometimes increased by the addition of
several loose rings. It had generally three, rarely four, bars ;
and the whole instrument was from 8 to 16 or 18 inches in
length, entirely of brass or bronze. It
was sometimes inlaid witli silver, or
gilt, or otherwise ornamented ; and,
being held upright, was shaken, the
rings moving to and fro upon the
bars. These last were frequently made
to imitate the sacred asp, or were
simply bent at each end to secure them.
Plutarch mentions a cat with a human
face on the top of the instrument, and
at the upper part of the handle, be-
neath the bars, the face of Isis on one '^57
side, and of Nepthys on the other.
The British Museum possesses an
excellent specimen of the sistrum, well preserved, and of the best
period of Egyptian art. It is 1 foot 4 inches high, and had
three moveable bars, which have been unfortunately lost. On
the upper part are represented the goddess Pasht, or Bubastis,
the sacred vulture, and other emblems ; and on the side below
is the figure of a female, holding in each hand one of these in-
struments.
The handle is cylindrical, and surmounted by the double fece
of Athor, wearing an '" asp-formed crown," on whose summit
appears to have been the cat, now scarcely traced in the remains
of its feet. It is entirely of bronze ; the handle, which is
hollow, and closed bv a moveable cover of the same metal, is
146.
Fig. 1. Thesistnim of four bars.
2. Of unusual form.
Thebes.
* Psalm Ixviii. 2^3 ; 2 Sam. xix. 35.
132
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
suijposed to have held something appertaining to the sistrum ;
and the lead, still remaining within the head, is a portion of that
used in soldering it.
Two others, in the same collection, are highly preserved, but
of a late time, and another is of still more recent date ; they
have four bars, and are of very small size.
KA
Sistra in the British Museum.
Rude model of a sistnmi iu the
148. Berlin Museum.
One of the Berlin sistra is 8, the other 9 inches in height : the
former has four bars, and on the upper or circular part lies a cat,
crowned with the disc or sun. The other has three bars : the
handle is composed of a figure, supposed to be of Typhon, sur-
mounted by the heads of Athor ; and on the summit are the horns,
globe, and feathers of the same goddess. They are both destitute
of rings ; but the rude Elgyptian model of another, in the same
collection, has three rings upon its single bar, agreeing in this
respect, if not in the number of the bars, with those represented
in the sculptures. They are not of early date.
Chap. II.
SISTUUM. D.\NCING.
laa
U9.
Sistra in the Bcrliu Museum.
150.
It was so great a privilege to hold the sacred sistrum in the
temple, that it was given to queens, and to those noble ladies who
liad the di.><tinguished title of " women of Ainun," and were de-
voted to the service of the deity ; and the -Jews seem, in like
manner, to have intrusted the principal sacred offices held bv
women to the daughters of priests, and of persons of rank.
The x^'ovi], an instrument said by Eustathius to have been
used by the (ireeks. at sacrifices, to assemble the congregation,
was rei)uted to have been of Egyptian origin ; but it has not been
met with in the sculptures. It was a species of trumpet, of a
round shape, and was said to have been the invention of Osiris.
The dance consisted mostly of a succession of figures, in
which the performers endeavoured to exhibit a great variety of
gesture : men and women danced at the same time, or in separate
parties, but the latter were generally preferred, from their su-
perior grace and elegance. Some danced to slow airs, adapted
134
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
,\
.t^;^:^
'l tT,.- i^i;5
to
a
*n
3
s
to the style of their movement : the attitudes they assumed fre-
quently partook of a grace not unworthy of the Greeks ;* and
* Woodcut 151.
Chap. ir. CHAKACTEli OF THEIR DANCE. 135
Others preferred a lively step, regulated by an appropriate tune.
Men sometimes danced with great spirit, bounding from the
ground more in the manner of Europeans tiian of an Eastern
people : on which occasions the music was not always composed
of many instruments, but consisted only of crotala or maces, a
man clapping his hands, and a woman snapping her fingers to
the time.*
Graceful attitudes and gesticulation were the general style of
tlieir dance ; but, as in other countries, the taste of the j)er-
formance varied according to the rank of the person b\' whom
they were employed, or their own skill ; and the dance at the
house of a priest differed from that among the uncouth peasantry,
or the lower classes of townsmen.
It was not customary for the upper orders of Egyptians to
indulge in this amusement, either in public or private assemblies,
and none appear to have practised it but the lower ranks of
society, and tliose who gained their livelihood by attending festive
meetings. The Greeks, however, though they employed women
who professed music and dancing, to entertain the guests, looked
upon the dance as a recreation in which all classes might indulge,
and an accomplishment becoming a gentleman ; and it was also
a Jewish custom for young ladies to dance at private entertain-
raents,f as it still is at Damascus and other Eastern towns.
The Romans, on the contrary, were far from considering it
worthy of a man of rank, or of a sensible person ; and Cicero
says, " No man who is sober dances, unless he is out of his mind,
either when alone, or in any decent society ; for dancing is the
companion of wanton conviviality, dissoluteness, and luxury."
Nor did the Greeks indulge in it to excess; and effeminate
dances, or extraordinary gesticulation, were deemed indecent in
men of character and wisdom. Indeed, Herodotus tells a story
of Ilippoclides, the Athenian, who had been preferred before
all the nobles of Greece, as a husband for the daughter of Clis-
thenes. king of Argos, having been rejected on account of his
extravagant gestures in the dance.
* Woodcut 109. t Matth. xiv. 6.
\3
Hi
>-
t >^'
>o
138 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. II.
Of all the Greeks, the lonians were most noted for their fond-
ness of this art ; and, from the wanton and indecent tendency of
their songs and gestures, dances of a voluptuous character (like
those of the modern Almehs of the East) were styled by the
Romans " Ionic movements." Moderate dancing was even
deemed worthy of the gods themselves. Jupiter, " the father of
gods and men," is represented dancing in the midst of the other
deities ; and Apollo is not only introduced by Homer thus en-
gaged, but received the title of opyj]aTr]i, " the dancer," from his
apposed excellence in the art.
Grace in posture and movement was the chief object of those
employed at the assemblies of the rich Egyptians ; and the ridi-
culous gestures of the buffoon were permitted there, so long as
they did not transgress the rules of decency and moderation.
Music was always indispensable, whether at the festive meetings
of the rich or poor ; and they danced to the sound of the harp,
lyre, guitar, pipe, tambourine, and other instruments, and, in the
streets, even to the drum.
Many of their postures resembled those of the modern ballet,
and the pirouette delighted an Egyptian party four thousand
years ago.*
The dresses of the female dancers were light, and of the finest
texture, showing, by their transparent quality, the forms and
movement of the limbs : they generally consisted of a loose
flowing robe, reaching to the ankles, occasionally fastened tight
at the waist ; and round the hips was a small narrow girdle,
adorned with beads, or ornaments of various colours. Sometimes
the dancing figures appear to have been perfectly naked ; but
this is from the outline of the transparent robe having been
effaced ; and, like the Greeks, they represented the contour of
the figure as if seen through the dress.
Slaves were taught dancing as well as music ; and in the
houses of the rich, besides their other occupations, that of danc-
ing to entertain the family, or a party of friends, was required
of them ; and free Egyptians also gained a livelihood by their
performances.
* Woodcut 152.
Chap. II.
V.VUIOUS STEPS; THE PIKOUETTE.
13l>
Some danced by pairs, holding each other's hands ; others
went through a succession of steps alone ;* and .sometimes a man
performed a solo to the sound of music, or the claj)ping of hands. f
15-1.
•2 I
Men dancing alone.
Tliebes.
I'
5 4 3 2 1
Men dancing a solo to the sound of the hand. Tomb near the Pyramids.
The dances of the lower orders generally had a tendency to-
wards a species of pantomime ; and the rude peasantry were
more delighted with ludicrous and extravagant dexterity, than
with gestures which displayed elegance and grace.
Besides the pirouette and the steps above mentioned, a
* Woodcut 154.
t Woodcut 155.
140
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. II.
favourite figure dance was universally adopted throughout the
country, in which the two partners, who were usually men, ad-
vanced towards each other, or stood face to face upon one leg,
and, having performed a series of movements, retired again in
opposite directions, continuing to hold by one hand, and con-
cluding by turning each other round.*
In another they struck the ground with the heel, standing on
one foot, changing, perhaps, alternately from the right to the
left ; which is not very unlike a step of the present day.f
The Egyptians also danced at the temples in honour of
the gods, and in some processions, as they approached the
precincts of the sacred courts ; and though this custom may at
first sight appear inconsistent with the gravity of religion, we
may recollect with what feelings David himself danced J before
the ark, and that the Jews considered it part of their religious
duties to approach the Deity with the dance, § with tabret, and
with harp. Their mode of worshipping the golden calf also
consisted of songs and dancing ; and this was immediately
derived from the ceremonies of the Egyptians.
* Woodcut 153. t Woodcut 154. % 1 Chron. xv. 29. 2 Sam. vi. 14.
§ Psalm cxlis, 3, " Let them praise his name in the dance." Exod. xv. 20.
D. The palace-temple of Eemeses the Great, generally called the Memnoniura. at Thebes,
during the inundation.
The two Colossi of Thebes before the temi)le built by Amunoph III., with the ruins of
Lu-xor in the distance, during the inundation.
chaptp:r III.
AMUSEMENT OF THE GUESTS — VASES — ORNAMENTS OF THE HOUSE — PRE-
PARATION FOR DINNER — THE KITCHEN — MODE OF EATING — SPOONS —
WASHING BEFORE MEALS FIGURE OF A DEAD MAN BROUGHT IN GAMES
WITHIN, AND OUT OF, DOORS — WRESTLING — BOAT-FIGHTS — BULL-FIGHTS.
While the party was amused with music and dancing, and the
late arrivals were successively announced, refreshments con-
tinued to be handed round, and every attention was shown to the
assembled guests. "Wine was offered to each new comer, and
cliaplets of flowers were brought by men servants to the gentle-
men, and by women or white slaves to the ladies, as they took
tlieir seats.* An upper servant, or slave, had the oflioe of hand-
ing the wine, and a black, woman sometimes followed, in an inferior
capacity, to receive an empty cup when the wine had been poured
into the goblet. The same black slave also carried tiie fruits
and other refreshments ; and the peculiar mode of liolding a
plate with tlie hand reversed, so generally adojited by women
from Africa, is characteristically shown intheTheban paintings.f
Woodcut 157 ; figs. 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 21.
t Woodcut 158.
142
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. HI.
Chap. III.
A PARTYT OF GUESTS.
143
^ g £ c.'a -.o
^ 2 " ISM
"■ .O >, 00 S --M
o '2 — 73 s 2
■§ s -giSg
■3 S . 5 c ^ :i
-I ^- M, 3 =..= ~ ■"
V F = "E I- -
n o ■■= ? - 1 5 3
I III ill
•< 5 2 ■?• -S ~ 5
CO
144
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. in.
158.
1 2 3
A black and white slave waiting upon a lady at a party
Thebes
To each person after drinking a napkin was presented for wiping
the mouth,* answering to the mdhrama of the modern Egyptians ;
and the bearer of it uttered a complimentary sentiment, when she
offered it and received back the goblet : as, " May it benefit you !"
and no oriental at the present day drinks water without receiving
a similar wish. But it was not considered rude to refuse wine
when offered, even though it had been poured out ;f and a teeto-
taller might continue smelling a lotus without any affront. INIen
and women either sat together, or separately, in a different part of
the room ; but no rigid mistrust prevented strangers, as well as
members of the family, being received into the same society ;
which shows how greatly the Egyptians were advanced in the
habits of social life. In this they, like the Romans, differed
widely from the Greeks, and might say with Cornelius Nepos,
" Which of us is ashamed to bring his wife to an entertainment ?
and what mistress of a fimiily can be shown who does not inhabit
the chief and most frequented part of the house ? Whereas in
Greece she never appears at any entertainments, except those to
which relations alone are invited, and constantly lives in the
women's apartments at the upper part of tlie house, into which
Woodcut 157 ; jiijs. 12, 21.
t Woodcut 157 ; fig. 13.
Chap. III.
MAKKIED PEOPLE ; LADIES.
145
no man has admission, unless he be a near rehition." Nor were
married people afraid of sitting together, and no idea of their
naving had too much of each other's company made it necessary
to divide them. In sliort. they were the most Darby and Joan
people possible, and they shared the same chair at home, at a
party, and even in their tomb, where sculpture grouped them
togetlier.
The master and mistress of the house accordingly sat side by
side on a large fauteuil, and each guest as he arrived walked up
to receive their welcome. The musicians and danters hired for
the occasion also did oljeisance to them, before they began their
part. To the leg of the fauteuil was tied a favourite monkey, a
dog, a gazelle, or some other pet ; and a young child was per-
mitted to sit on the ground at the side of its mother, or on its
father's knee.
In the mean time the conversation became animated, especially
in those parts of tlie room where the ladies sat together, and the
numerous subjects that occurred to them were fluently discussed.
Among these the question of dress was not forgotten, and the
patterns, or the value of trinkets, were examined with propor-
159.
Ladies at a party talking about their earriiiga.
Thebes.
tionate interest. The maker of an earring, and the shop where it
was purchased, were anxiously inquired ; each compared the work-
VOL. I. L
146 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. III.
manship, the style, and the materials of those she wore, coveted
her neighbour's, or preferred her own ; and women of every class
vied with each other in the display of " jewels of silver and
jewels of gold," in the texture of their " raiment," the neatness
of their sandals, and the arrangement or beauty of their plaited
hair.
It was considered a pretty compliment to offer each other a
flower from their own bouquet, and all the vivacity of the
Egyptians was called forth as they sat together. The hosts
omitted nothing that could make their party pass off pleasantly,
and keep up agreeable conversation, whicli was with them the
great charm of accomplished society, as with the Greeks, who
thought it " more requisite and becoming to gratify the company
by cheerful conversation, than with variety of dishes." The
guests, too, neglected no opportunity of showing how much they
enjoyed themselves ; and as they drew each other's attention to
the many knick-knacks that adorned the rooms, paid a well-
turned compliment to the taste of the owner of the house.
They admired the vases, the carved boxes of wood or ivory,
and the liglit tables on which many a curious trinket was
displayed ; and commended the elegance and comfort of the
luxurious fauteuils, the rich cushions and coverings of the
couches and ottomans, the carpets and the other furniture. Some,
who were invited to see the sleeping apartments, found in the
ornaments on the toilet-tables, and in the general arrangements,
fresh subjects for admiration ; and their return to the guest-
chamber gave an opportunity of declaring that good taste pre-
vailed throughout the whole house. On one occasion, while
some of the delighted guests were in these raptures of admiration,
and others were busied with the chitchat, perhaps the politics, or
the scandal, of the day, an awkward youth, either from inadver-
tence, or a lit^^le too much wine, reclined against a wooden column
placed in the centre of the room to support some temporary
ornament, and threw it down upon those who sat beneath it.*
* I regret having lost the copy of this amusing subject. It was in a tomb at
Thebes,
Chap. III. ORNAMENTS; VASES. . I47
The confusion was great : the women screamed ; and some, with
uplifted hands, endeavoured to protect their heads and escape
from its fall. IS'o one, however, seems to have been hurt ; and
the harmony of the party being restored, the incident afforded
fresh matter for conversation ; to be related in full detail to their
friends, when they returned home.
The vases were very numerous, and varied in shape, size,
and materials ; being of hard stone, alabaster, glass, ivory, bone,
porcelain, bronze, brass, silver, or gold ; and those of the poorer
classes were of glazed pottery, or common earthenware. Many
of their ornamental vases, as well as those in ordinary use, were
of the most elegant shape, which would do honour to the Greeks,
the Egj'ptians frequently displaying in these objects of private
luxe the tiiste of a highly refined people ; and so strong a re-
semblance did they bear to the productions of the best epochs of
ancient Greece, both in their shape and in the fancy devices
upon them, that some might even suppose them borrowed from
Greek patterns. But they were purely Egyptian, and had been
universally adopted in the valley of the Nile, long before the
graceful forms we admire were known in Greece ; a fact in-
variably acknowledged by those who are acquainted with the
remote age of Egyptian monuments, and of the paintings thai
represent them.
160, Gold vases of the time of Thothmcs III. Thebei.
For some of the most elegant date in the early age of the third
Thothmes, who lived between fourteen and fifteen hundred years
before our era : and we not only admire their forms, but the
l2
148
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. HI.
richness of the materials of which they were made, their colour,
as well as the hieroglyphics, showing them to have been of gold
and silver, or of this last, inlaid with the more precious metal.
Those of bronze, alabaster, glass, porcelain, and even of ordinary
pottery, were also deserving of admiration, from the beauty of
their shapes, the designs which ornamented them, and the superior
quality of the material ; and gold and silver cups were often
beautifully engraved, and studded with precious stones. Among
these we readily distinguish the green emerald, the purple
amethyst, and other gems ; and when an animal's head adorned
their handles, the eyes were frequently composed of them, except
wheif enamel, or some coloured composition, was employed as a
substitute.
That the Egyptians made great use of precious stones for their
vases, and for women's necklaces, rings, bracelets, and other
ornamental purposes, is evident from the paintings at Thebes,
and from the numerous articles of
jewellery discovered in the tombs ;
and they appear sometimes to have
been sent to Egypt in bags, similar
' ^4JlH"iJ>iriJ ^TJX."LtfT:^ ^^ those containing the gold dust
^^Si!'?i'!'i!S^^ brought by the conquered nations
^^-^rVfll^-^ tributary to the Egyptians, which
161. Bags, generally containing gold ^. , , i .,i i
dust, tied up and sealed. Thebes, wcre tied up and Secured with a seal.
Many bronze vases found at Thebes, and in other parts of
Egypt, are of very excellent quality, and prove the skill possessed
by the Egyptians in the art of working and compounding metals.
We are surprised at the rich sonorous tones they emit on being
struck, the fine polish of which some are still susceptible, and
the high finish given them by the workmen : nor are the knives
and daggers, made of the same materials, less deserving of
notice ; the elastic spring they possessed, and even retain to the
present day, being such as could only be looked for in a blade of
steel. The exact proportions of the copper and alloys, in all
the different specimens preserved in the museums of Europe,
have not yet been ascertained ; but it would be curious to know
Ki IT
lg2. Vases, with one and two handles.
Figs. 1, 2. Karthenware vaaes fonnd at Thebes. 3. Bronze vase. 4. Bronze vasf.
6. The same seen from above, showing the top of the handle.
6 to 19. From the paintings of Thebes.
163. Vases ornamented with one and two heads, or the whole animal.
Fig. 2 has the word " gold " upon it.
Tliebei.
Chap. Ill
VASES.
151
152
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. m.
their composition, particularly the interesting dagger of the Berlin
collection, which is as remarkable for the elasticity of its blade,
as for the neatness and perfection of its finish. Many contain
10 or 20 parts tin, to 90 and 80 copper.
Some vases had one, others two handles ; some were orna-
mented with the heads of wild animals, as the ibex, oryx, or
gazelle ; others had a head on either side, a fox, a cat, or some-
thing similar ; and many were ornamented with horses' heads, a
whole quadruped, a goose's head, figures of captives, or fancy
devices. They were occasionally grotesque, and monstrous ;
especially when introduced among the offerings brought by the
conquered people of the north, which may be Asiatic rather than
ICgyptian ; and one of them (fig. 1) appears to have for its cover
the head of the Assyrian god represented in the Nimroud sculp-
tures, supposed to be a vulture, a bird whose name, nisr, recalls
that of " Nisroch, the god " of Nebuchadnezzar. They were
either made of porcelain, or an enamel on gold, and were re-
165.
Fig. 1. Vase, with the head of a bird as a cover.
2. With head of a Typhonian monster.
3. A golden vase, without handles.
They are of the time of the 18th and 19th dynasties.
TJiebes.
CuAP. III. FORMS OF VASES. 153
markable for the brilliancy of their colours. The head of a
Typhouian monster also served for the cover of some of tiiese
vases, as it often did for the support of a mirror (contrasted
daily with the beauty of an Egyi)tian lady); but both this, and
the head of the bird, are of early time, being found on vases
brought as part of the tribute from Asia to the kings of the
18th and 19th dynasties. The Typhouian head bears some
analogy to that of Medusa. It is thought to be of the Syrian god
Baal ; whose name was sometimes associated with that of Seth,
or Typhon, the Evil Being.
There was also a rhi/ton, or drinking-cup, in the form of a
cock's head, represented among the tribute of the people of Kufa
brought to Thothmes III.
These very highly ornamented vases, with a confused mixture of
flower and scroll patterns, appear to have been mostly brought
from Asia ; and it is remarkable that the Nineveh ornaments have
much the same kind of character. They are occasionally as
devoid of taste as the wine bottles and flower-pots of an English
cellar and conservatory ; but many of those brought by tlie
people of Rothn have all the beauty of form found in those of
Greece.
Some had a single handle fixed to one side, and were in shape
not unlike our cream jugs,* ornamented with the heads of oxen,
or fancy devices ; others were of bronze, bound with gold, having
handles of the same metal. Several vases had simple handles or
rings on either side ; others were destitute of these, and of every
exterior ornament ; some again were furnished with a single ring
attached to a neat bar.f or with a small knob, projecting from tlie
side ; J and many of those used in the service of the temple, highly
ornamented with figures of deities in relief, § had a moveable
cuned handle, on the principle of, though more elegant in form
than that of their common culinary utensils. || They were of
bronze, ornamented with figures, in relief, or engraved upon
* Woodcut \&(},fi{}s. 1, 2. t Woodcut 167, fgs. 1, 2.
+ Woodcut 167, jifjs. 3, 4, 5. § Woodcut 168,}i<7- '•
II Woodcut 168 /<7. 3.
154
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
166.
Figs. 1 and 2. Vases of an early period.
4. Drinking-cup of porcelain.
From the Paintings of Thtbti.
3. Vase on a stand.
1. Bronze vase, bound with gold.
them ; and one of those found by Mr. Salt showed, by the
elastic spring of its cover, and the nicety with which this fitted
the mouth of the vase, the great skill of the Egyptian work-
men.*
Another, of much larger dimensions, and of a different form,
brought by me from Thebes, and presented to the British
Museum, is also of bronze, with two large handles fastened on
with pins ; and, though it resembles some of the caldrons repre-
sented by the paintings in an Egyptian kitchen, its lightness
seems to show that it was rather intended as a basin, or for a
similar purpose. f
Vases, surmounted with a human head forming the cover,
* Woodcut 172.
+ Woodcut 169.
Chap. III.
VASES.
155
167. Fig. 1. Bronze vase brought by me from Thebes, now in the British Musetun.
2. -Showing bow the handle is iLxed.
3. Alabaster vase from Thebes, of the time of Neco.
4. Vase at Berlin of cut glass. 5. Stone vase.
6 to 9. From the sculptures of Thebes.
appear to have been frequently used for keeping gold and other
l)recious objects, as in certain small side chambers of Medeenet
Ilaboo, which were the treasury of King Remeses TIT. And if
this Remeses was really the same as the wealthy Khampsinitus
of Herodotus, these chambers may have been the very treasury
he mentions, where the thieves displaj-ed so much dexterity.
Bottles, small vases, and pots used for holding ointment, or
156
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS,
Chap. III.
168. Fig. 1. Bronze vase used in the temple.
2. A larger one in the Berlin Museum.
3, 4, 5. Culinary utensils in the sculptures at Thebes.
169.
Large bronze vase brought by me from Thebes.
other purposes connected with the toilet, were of alabaster, glass,
porcelain, and hard stone, as granite, basalt, porphyry, serpentine,
or breccia ; some were of ivory, bone, and other materials,
^ according to the choice or means of individuals ; and the porous
Chap. III.
BOTTLES AND VASES.
157
170.
Fig. 1. Alabaster vase in my possession, from Thebes.
2. Porcelain vase in llr. Salt's Collection.
^
• r
^•^
n
Fig. 1. Alabaster vase, containing sweet scented ointment, in the Museum of Alnwick Castle.
2. HieroRlyphics on a vase, presenting the name of a queen, the sister of Tholhmes III.
.1. The stopper. 4 and 9. Porcelain vases, from the paintings ol Thebes.
5. Porcelain cup. in my possession, from Thebes.
6. Small ivory vase, in my possession, containing a dark-coloured ointment, from Thebes.
.. Alabaster vase, with its Ud (s), in the Museum of Alnwiik Castle.
158
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
172. Bronze vase of Mr. Salt's Collection.
173. Glass bottle.
Thebes.
earthenware jars and water-bottles of Coptos, like the modern
ones of Ballas and Keneh in the same neighbourhood, were
highly prized, even by foreigners.
Small boxes, made of wood or ivory, were also nmnerons ; and,
like the vases, of many diiferent forms ; and some, which con-
tained cosmetics of divers kinds, served to deck the dressing
table, or a lady's boudoir. They were carved in various ways,
and loaded with ornamental devices in relief ; sometimes repre-
senting the favourite lotus tlower, with its buds and stalks, a
goose, gazelle, fox, or other animal. Many were of considerable
length, terminating in a hollow shell, not unlike a spoon in
shape and depth, covered v/ith a lid turning on a pin ; and to
this, which may properly be styled the box, the remaining part
was merely an accessory, intended for ornament, or serving as a
handle.
They were generally of sycamore wood, sometimes of tama-
risk,* or of acacia ; and occasionally ivory, and inlaid work, were
* Woodcuts 174, 175.
Chap. III.
ORNAMENTAL BOXES.
159
substituted for wood. To many, a handle of less disproportionate
length was attached, representing tlie usual lotus flower, a figure,
a Typhonian monster, an animal, a bird, a fish, or a reptile ; and
174. Box with a long handle.
Mr. Salt's CoUiclion.
mm
175. Box in the Berlin Musemn,
showing the lid open.
the box itself, whether covered with a lid or open, was in cha-
racter with the remaining part. Some shallow ones were pro-
bably intended to contain small portions of ointment, taken from
a large vase at the time it was wanted, or for other purposes
160
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
176.
AVooden boxes, or saucers without covers. Mr. Salt's Collection,
connected with the toilet, where greater depth was not required ;
and in many instances they rather resembled spoons than boxes.
JMany were made in the form of a royal oval, with and without
177. Other open bo.xes, whose form is taken from the oval of a king's name.
Alnwick Castle, and Leydcr Museum.
Chap. III.
SMALL FANCY BOXES.
](]]
a handle ;* and the body of a wooden fish was scooped out, and
closed with a cover iniitatiiig the scales, to deceive the eye by the
lift.
box in the form of a fish, wilh turning lid.
Mr. Salt's Collectum.
appearance of a solid mass. Sometimes a goose was represented,
ready for table. f or swimming on the water.| and pluming itself,
the head being the handle of a box formed of its hollow body ;
179
Box with and without its cover.
ifuseum, of Alnwick Castle.
180.
Boxes in form of geese.
Mr. Salt's Collection and Leyden Muteum.
some consisted of an open part or cup, attached to a covered box ;§
others of different shapes offered the usual variety of fancy devices,
and some were without covers, which may come under the de-
* Woodcut 177. t Woodcut 179. % Woodcut 180,/^^. 2.
§ Woodcut ISl.
VOL. I. M
162
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
nomination of saucers. Others bore the precise form and cha-
racter of a box, being deeper and more capacious ; and these
were probably used for holding trinkets, or occasionally as reposi-
tories for the small pots of ointment, or scented oils, and bottles
containing the collyrium, which women applied to their eyes.
181
One part open, and one covei'cd. Mr. Salt's Collection.
182.
Box with the lid ttuning, as usual, on a pin. Mr. Salt's Collection.
183
A box with and without its lid. Mr. Salt's Collection.
CUAP. III.
SUBSTITUTE FOR A HINGE.
163
Some were divided into separate compartments, covered by a
common lid, either sliding in a groove,* or turning on a ])in at
one end ; and manj' of still larger dimensions suiliccd to contain"
a mirror, combs, and perhaps even some articles of dress.
184.
Fig. 1. A box, witli devicos tarveJ in i-clicl", divided into cells.
2. The lid, which slides into a groove. Mr. Salt's Collection.
These boxes were frequently of costly materials, veneered
with rare woods, or made of ebony, inlaid with ivory, painted
with various devices, or stained to imitate materials of a valuable
nature ; and the mode of fastening the lid, and the curious substi-
tute for a hinge given to some of them, show the former was
entirely removed, and that the box remained open, while used.
The principle of this will be better understood by reference
to woodcut 185, where fig. 1 represents a side section of the box.
and fig. 2 the inside of the lid. At the upper part of the back c,
Hg. 3, a small hole E is cut, which, when the box is closed, re-
ceives the nut D, projecting from the cross-bar b, on the inside
of the lid ; and the two knobs f and G, one on the lid, the other
on the front of the box itself, serve not only for ornament but
for fastening, it. a band being wound round them, and secured
with a seal.
Knobs of ebony, or other hard wood, were very common.
They were turned with great care, and inlaid with i\ory and
silver ; an instance of which is given in fig. 5.
* Woodcut 184.
M 2
164
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. HI.
D
<
A
B
I-'
D
V.
B
A
'—'
_
185.
fff-^'
Fig. 1. Section of the box. A, tho lid. K, the bottom. C, D, the two sides.
2. The inside of the lid. B, H, cross-bars nailed inside the lid. Found at Thebes.
fig-^.
Some boxes were made with a pointed summit, divided into
two parts, one of which alone opened, turning on small pivots at
the base, and the two ends of the box resembled in form the
gable ends, as the top, the shelving roof, of a house.* The sides
were, as usual, secured by glue and nails, generally of wood,
and dovetailed, a method of joining adopted in Egj^pt at the
most remote period ; but the description of these belongs more
properly to cabinet work, as those employed for holding the
combs, and similar objects, to the toilet.
Some vases have been found in boxes, made of wicker-work,
closed with stoppers of wood, reed, or other materials, supposed
to belong either to a lady's toilet or to a medical man ; one of
which, now in the Berlin Museum, has been already noticed.f
Bottles of terra cotta are also met with, in very great abund-
ance, of the most varied forms and dimensions, made for every
kind of purpose of which they were susceptible ; and I have
seen one which appears to have belonged to a painter, and
* See the boxes in Chap. vii. in the department of the Carpenters,
t Page 80, Woodcut 92.
Chap. III.
BOTTLES. DINNER PREPARING.
165
to have been intended for holding water to moisten the colours ;
the form and position of the handle suggesting that it was held
on the thumb of the left hand, while the person wrote or painted
with his riglit.
186. Terra-cotta bottle, perhaps used by painters for holding water, and carried on the
thumb. Mr. Salt's CoUtxtion.
Besides vases and bottles of stone, and of the materials above
mentioned, the Eg}-ptians made them of leather or prepared
skin ; and some of these were imported into Egj'pt from foreign
countries. As with the Greeks and Romans, skins were often
used for carrying wine ; but leathern bottles are ijever seen at an
Egyptian party, either for drawing wine from the amphora, or
for handing it to table.
Bottles and narrow-mouthed vases, placed in the sitting-room,
and holding water, were frequently closed with some light sub-
stance, througli which the warm air could pass, as it rose, during
the cooling process, being submitted to a current of air, to in-
crease the evaporation : leaves were often employed for this
purpose, as at the present day, those of a fragrant kind being
probably selected ; and the same prejudice against leaving a vase
uncovered evidently existed among tlie ancient, as among the
modern, inhabitants of Egj-pt.*
While the guests were entertained with music and the dance^
dinner was prepared ; but as it consisted of a considerable num-
ber of dishes, and the meat was killed for the occasion, as at the
present day in Eastern and tropical climates, some time elapsed
before it was put upon table. An ox, kid, wild goat, gazelle, or
an or)x, and a quantity of geese, ducks, teal, quails, and other
♦ Woodcut 136, figs, a, b, c, d, e.
166 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. III.
birds, were generally selected ; but mutton was excluded from
a Theban table. Plutarch even states that " no Egj-ptians
would eat the flesh of sheep, except the Lycopolites," who did so
out of compliment to the wolves they venerated ; and Strabo con-
fines the sacrifice of them to the Nome of Nitriotis. But, though
sheep were not killed for the altar or the table, they abounded
in Egypt, and even at Thebes ; and large flocks were kept for
their wool, particularly in the neighbourhood of jMemphis.
Sometimes a flock consisted of more than 2000 ; and in a tomb
below the Pyramids, dating upwards of 4000 years ago, 974 rams
are brought to be registered by his scribes, as part of the stock
of the deceased ; implying an equal number of ewes, independent
of lambs.*
Beef and goose constituted the principal part of the animal
food throughout Egypt ; and by a prudent foresight, in a country
possessing neither extensive pasture lands, nor great abundance of
cattle, the cow was held sacred, and consequently forbidden to be
eaten. Thus the risk of exhausting the stock was prevented, and
a constant supply of oxen was kept up for the table and for
agricultural purposes. A similar fear of diminishing the number
of sheep, so valuable for their wool, led to a preference for
such meats as beef and goose ; though they were much less light
and wholesome than mutton. In Abyssinia it is a sin to eat
geese or ducks ; and modern experience teaches that in Egypt,
and similar climates, beef and goose are not eligible food, except
in the winter months.
A considerable quantity of meat was served up at those repasts,
to which strangers were invited, as among people of the East at
the present day ; whose azooma, or feast, prides itself in the
quantity and variety of dishes, in the unsparing profusion of
viands, and, whenever wine is permitted, in the freedom of the
bowl. An endless succession of vegetables was also required on
all occasions ; and, when dining in private, dislies composed chiefly
of them, were in greater request than joints, even at the tables of
* See the seventh woodcut in Chapter viii.
Chap. III. FOOD. VEGETABLES. 167
the rich ; and consequently the Israelites, who, by their long re-
.sidence there, had acquired similar habits, regretted tlieni equally
with the meat and tisli * of Egypt.
I'heir mode of dining was very similar to that now adopted in
Cairo, and throughout the East ; each person sitting round a
table, and dipping his bread into a dish placed in the centre,
removed on a sign made by the host, and succeeded by others,
wliose rotation depends on established rule, and whose number
is predetermined according to the size of the party, or the quality
of the guests.
Among the lower orders, vegetables constituted a very great
l)art of their ordinary food, and they gladly availed themselves
of the variety and abundance of esculent roots growing spon-
taneously, in the lands irrigated by the rising Nile, as soon as its
waters had subsided ; some of which wei'e eaten in a crude state, and
others roasted in the ashes, boiled, or stewed : their chief aliment,
and that of their children, consisting of milk and cheese, roots,
leguminous, cucurbitaceous, and other plants, and the ordinary
fruits of the country. Herodotus describes the food of the work-
men, who built the Pyramids, to have been the '• raphanus,
onions, and garlic ;" the first of which, now called Jigl, is like a
turnip-radish in flavour ; but he has omitted one more vegetable,
lentils, which were always, as at the present day, the chief article
of their diet ; and which Strabo very properly adds to the number.
The nummulite rock, in the vicinity of those monuments, fre-
quently presents a conglomerate of testacea imbedded in it,
which, in some positions, resemble small seeds ; and Strabo
imagines they wA'e the petrified residue of the lentils brought
there by the workmen, from their having been fhe ordinary food
of the labouring classes, and of all the lower orders of Egyptians.
INIuch attention was bestowed on the culture of this useful
pulse, and certain varieties became remarkable for their excellence,
the lentils of Pelusium being esteemed both in Eg}'pt and in
foreign countries.
* Numbers xi. 4, 5.
168 ' THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IU.
In few countries were vegetables more numerous than in
Egypt ; as is proved by ancient writers, the sculptures, and the
number of persons who sold them ; and at the time of the Arab
invasion, when Alexandria was taken by Amer, the lieutenant
of the caliph Omer, no less than 4000 persons were engaged
in selling vegetables in that city.
The lotus, the papyrus, and other similar productions of the
land, during and after the inundation, were, for the poor, one of
the greatest blessings nature ever provided for any people ; and,
like the acorn in northern climates, constituted perhaps the
sole aliment of the peasantry, at the early period when Egypt
was first colonised. The fertility of the soil, however, soon
afforded a more valuable produce to the inhabitants ; and long
before they had made any great advances in civilisation, corn and
leguminous plants were grown to a great extent throughout the
country. The palm was another important gift bestowed upon
them : it flourished spontaneously in the valley of the Nile, and,
if it was unable to grow in the sands of the arid desert, yet wher-
ever water sufficed for its nourishment, this useful tree produced
an abundance of dates, a wholesome and nutritious fruit, which
might be regarded as an universal benefit, being within the reach
of all classes of people, and neither requiring expense in the cul-
tivation, nor interfering with the time demanded for other agri-
cultural occupations.
Among the vegetables above mentioned, is one which requires
some observations. Juvenal says that they were forbidden to
eat the onion, and it is reported to have been excluded from an
Egyptian table. But even if, as Plutarch supposes, onions were
prohibited to the priests, who '' abstained from most kinds of
pulse ; they were not excluded from the altars of the gods, either
in the tombs or temples ; and a priest is frequently seen holding
them in his hand, or covering an altar with a bundle of their
leaves and roots. They were introduced at private as well as
public festivals ; and brought to table with gourds, cucumbers,
and other vegetables ; and the Israelites, when they left the
country, regretted "the onions" as well as the cucumbers,
Cii.vr. III.
ONIONS.
loy
the water-melons,* the leeks, the garlic, atul the meat they " did
eat" in Egypt.t
The onions of Egypt were mild, and of an excellent flavour.
They were eaten crude as well as cooked, by persons both of tlie
higher and the lower classes ; but it is ditticult to say if they
introduced them to table like the cabbage, as a hors-d\euvi€,
to stimulate the appetite, which Socrates recommends in the
Banquet of Xenophon. On this occasion, some curious reasons
for their use are brought forward, by different members of the
party. Nicerates observes that onions relish well with wine, and
cites Homer in support of his remark ; Callias afllirms that they
inspire courage in the hour of battle ; and Charmidas suggests
their utility '" in deceiving a jealous wife, who, finding her
husband return with his breath smelling of onions, would be
induced to believe he had not saluted any one while from home."
In slaughtering for the table, it was customary to take the ox,
or whatever animal had been chosen for the occasion, into a
court-yard near the house ; to tie its four legs together, and then
187. A butcher killing and cutting up an ibox or wild goat: the other two sharpening their
knives on u sUxl. Thebes.
to tlirow it upon the ground; in wliieh position it was held by
one or more persons, while the butcher, sharpening liis broad
* Ahtihhim, comp. Arabic batikh, " water-melon."
t Exod. STJ. 3 ; Numb. xi. 5.
170 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IE.
knife upon a steel attached to his apron, proceeded to cut the
throat, as near as possible from one ear to the other ; sometimes
continuing the opening- downwards.* The blood was frequently
received into a vase or basin for the purposes of cookery,j' which
was repeatedly forbidden to the Israelites by the Mosaic law •,\ and
the reason of the explicit manner of the prohibition is readily ex-
plained, from the necessity of preventing their adopting a custom
they had so recently witnessed in Egypt. Nor is it less strictly
denounced by the Mohammedan religion ; and all Moslems look
upon this ancient Egyptian, and modern European, custom with
unqualified horror and disgust. But black-puddings were popular
in Egypt.
The head was then taken off, and they proceeded to skin the
animal, beginning with the leg and neck. The first joint removed
was the right foreleg or shoulder ; the other parts following in
succession, according to custom or convenience ; and the same
rotation was observed, in cijtting up the victims oifered in sacrifice
to the gods. Servants carried the joints to the kirchen on wooden
trays, and the cook having selected the parts suited for boiling,
roasting, and other modes of dressing, prepared them for the fire
by washing, and any other preliminary process he thought neces-
sary. In large kitchens, the chef^ or head cook, had several
persons under him ; who were required to make ready and boil
the water of the caldron, to put the joints on spits or skewers, to
cut up or mince the meat, to prepare the vegetables, and to fulfil
various other duties assigned to them.
The very peculiar mode of cutting up the meat frequently pre-
vents our ascertaining the exact part they intend to represent in
the sculptures ; the chief joints, however, appear to be the head,
shoulder, and leg, with the ribs, tail, or rump, the heart, and
kidneys; and they occur in the same manner on the altars of the
temple, and the tables of a private house. One is remarkable,
* The Israelites sometimes cut ofl' the head at once. Dent. xxi. v. 4, 6.
+ Woodcut 191, /(7- 2.
X Deut. «v, 23. " Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof : thou shalt pour
it upon the ground as water." And c. xii. 16, 23; "be sure that thou eat not
the blood, for the blood is the life." Gen. i.\. 4, and Levit. xvii. 10, 11, 14, &c.
Chap. III.
JOINTS. THE HEAD.
171
not only from being totally unlike any of our European joints,
but from its exact resemblance to that conunonly seen at table in
modern Egypt: it is part of the leg, con.^isting of the flesli
covering the bone, wiiose two e.Ntremities project slightly beyond
it ; and the accompanying drawing from the sculptures, and a
sketch of the same joint from a modern table in Upper Egypt.
show how the mode of cutting it has been preserved by tradi-
tional custom to the present day.
188.
Peculiar joint of meat at an ancient and modem Egyptian table.
The head was left with the skin and horns ; and was sometimes
given away to a poor person, as a reward for holding the walking
sticks of those guests who came on foot ; but it was frequently
189.
One head given to a poor man
Theba.
172 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Ciiap. m.
taken to the kitchen with the other joints ; and, notwithstanding
the positive assertion of Herodotus, we find that even in the
temples themselves it m as admitted at a sacrifice, and placed with
other offerings on the altars of the gods.
The historian would lead us to suppose that a strict religious
scruple prevented the Egyptians of all classes from eating this
part, as he affirms, " that no Egyptian will taste the head of any
species of animal," in consequence of certain imprecations
having been uttered upon it at the time it was sacrificed ; but as
he is speaking of heifers slaughtered for the service of the gods,
we may conclude that the prohibition did not extend to those
killed for table, nor even to all those offered for sacrifice in the
temple ; and as with the scapegoat of the Jews, that important
ceremony was perhaps confined to certain occasions, and to
chosen animals, without extending to every victim which was
slain.
The formula of the imprecation was probably very similar wdth
the Jews and Egyptians. Herodotus says the latter pray the
gods " that if any misfortune was about to happen to those who
offered, or to the other inhabitants of Egypt, it might fall upon
that head :" and with the former it was customary for the priest
to take two goats and cast lots upon them, " one lot for the
Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat," which was presented
alive " to make atonement " for the people. Tne priest was then
required to " lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat,
and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel,
and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon
the head of the goat, and send him away by the hand of a fit
man into the mlderness." The remark of Herodotus should
then be confined to the head, on which their imprecation was
pronounced ; and being looked upon by every Egyptian as an
abomination, it may have been taken to the market and sold to
foreigners, or if no foreigners happened to be there, it may have
been given to the crocodiles.
The same mode of slaughtering, and of preparing the joints,
extended to all the large animals ; but geese, and other wild and
Chap. HI.
ROAST AND BOILED JIEAT.
173
190.
An ox and a bird placed entire on
the allar.
tame fowl, were served up en-
tire, or, at least, only deprived
of their feet and pinion joints.
Fish were also brought to table
whole, whether boiled or fried,
the tails and fins being removed.
For the service of religion, they
were generally prepared in the
same manner as for private feasts;
sometimes, liowever, an ox was
brought entire to the altar, and
birds were often placed among
the ofFerinas, without even havin"' the feathers taken off.
In Lower Egypt, or, as Herodotus styles it, " the corn country,"
they were in the habit of drying and salting birds of various
kinds, as quails, ducks, and others;* and fish were prepared by
them in the same manner both in Upper and Lower Egypt.f
Some joints were boiled, others roasted : two modes of dressing
their food to which Herodotus appears to confine the Egyptians,
at least in the lower country ; but the various modes of artificial
cookery which Menes introduced, and which offended the simple
habits of King Tnephachthus, had long since taught them to make
'• savoury meats," such as prevented Isaac's distinguishing the
flesh of kids from venison.
For though the early Greeks were contented with roast meats,
and, as Athenaeus observes, the heroes of Homer seldom " boil
their meat, or dress it with sauces," the Egyptians were far more
advanced in the habits of civilisation in those remote times.
The Egyptians never connuitted the same excesses as the
Romans under the Empire ; but they gave way to habits of in-
temperance and luxury after the Persian conquest, and the
accession of the Ptolemies ; so that writers who mention them
at that period, describe the Egyptians as a profligate and luxurious
peo )le, addicted to an innuoderate love of the table, and to every
* See Fowlers, in chap. viii.
t See Fishermen, chap. viii.
1 74 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. III.
excess iu drinking. They even used excitants for this purpose,
and hors d'ceuvres were provided to stimulate the appetite ; crude
cabbage, provoking the desire for wine, and promoting the con-
tinuation of excess.
As is the custom in Egypt, and other hot climates, at tlie pre-
sent day, they cooked the meat as soon as killed ; with the same
view of having it tender, which makes northern people keep it
until decomposition is beginning ; and this explains the order of
Joseph to " slay and make ready " for his brethren to dine with
him the same day at noon. As soon, therefore, as this had been done,
a^ the joints were all ready, the kitclien presented an animated
scene, and the cooks were busy in their ditferent departments.
One regulated the heat of the fire, raismg it with a poker, or
blowing it with bellows, worked by the feet ; * another super-
intended the cooking of the meat, skimming the water with
a spoon, or stirring it with a large fork jf while a third pounded
salt, pepper, or other ingredients, in a large mortar, which were
added from time to time during this process. Liquids of various
kinds also stood ready for use, which were sometimes drawn off
by means of siphons ;:j: and those things they wished to raise
beyond the reach of rats, or other intruders, were placed upon
trays, and pulled up by ropes running through rings in the ceiling,
answering the purposes of a safe.§
Other servants took charge of the pastry, which the bakers or
confectioners had made for the dinner table ; and this depart-
ment, which may be considered as attached to the kitchen, ap-
pears even more varied than that of the cook. Some sifted and
mixed the flour, || otliers kneaded the paste with their hands,''[|' and
formed it into rolls, which were then prepared for baking, and,
being placed on a long tray or board, were carried on a man's
* See chap. ix. f Woodcut 191, figs. 4 and 5.
X This part of the picture is very much damaged, but sufficient remains to
show them using the siphons ; which occur again, perfectly preserved, in a tomb
at Thebes. See chap. ix.
^ At h and_/' in woodcut 191.
II Woodcut 191a, /j/s. 13 and 14. ^ Fig. 15.
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Chap. III. THE KITCHEN. 177
head * to the oven.f Certain seeds were previously sprinkled
upon the upper surface of eacli roll,| and, judging from those still
used in Egypt for the same purpose, they were chiefly the nigella
saliva, or kamoon aswed, the simsi7n,^ and the caraway. Fliny
also mentions this custom, and says that seeds of cummin were
j)nt upon cakes of bread in Egypt, and that condiments were
3 mixed with them.
Sometimes they kneaded tlie paste with their feet,|| having
placed it in a large wooden bowl upon the ground ; it was then
'n a more liquid state than when mixed by the hand, and was
carried in vases to the pastrycook, who formed it into a sort of
niaccaroni, upon a shallow metal pan over the fire. Two per-
., sons were engaged in this process ; one stirring it with a wooden
spatula, and the other taking it off when cooked, with two pointed
sticks,^ who arranged it in a proper place, where the rest of the
pastry was kept. This last was of various kinds, apparently made up
^ with fniit, or other ingredients, with whicli the dough, spread out
with the hand, was sometimes mixed ; and it assumed the shape
of a three-cornered cake, a recumbent ox, a leaf, a crocodile's
head, a heart, or other form,** according to the fancy of the con-
fectioner. That his department was connected with the kitchen|f
is again shown, by the presence of a man in the corner of the
picture, engaged in cooking lentils for a souj) or porridge ; ^ J his
companion §§ brings a bundle of faggots for the fire, and the lentils
themselves are seen standing near him in wicker baskets. |]||
* As at the present day. Comp, Pharaoh's chief baker, with "three white
baskets on his head." Gen. xl. 16, and Herod, ii. 35. "Jlen cany loads on
their heads, women on their shoulders." But it was not the general custom.
t Woodcut lQ\a, Jigs. 19 and j:.
X I'i'js. 11 and z. Called olh by the'Egyptians. § Sesamum Orientale, Linn.
jl Herod, ii. 36, and/jfs. 1 and 2. ^ Figs. 6 and 7, and /.
** Figs, d, f, g,h, i, k. f and g appear to have the fruit apart from the pastry.
Cakes of the fonn of / have been found in a tomb at Thebes, but without any
fruit or other addition.
tt The chief baker (CSXH ^B') of Pharaoh carried in the uppennost h:\sket
"all manner of bake-nu-ats," not only "bread," but "all kind of food."
?3NJ3 73. Gen. xl. 17. Anciently, the cook and baker were the same with the
llnnians.
::^v-9. §§^^.10. nil At i..
VOL. I. N
178
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
The large caldrons containing the meat for boiling, having
been taken from the dresser,* where they ^yere placed for ihv
convenience of putting in the joints, stood over a wood fire upo
the hearth, supported on stones, or on a metal frame or tripod.
Some of smaller dimensions, probably containing the stewe
meat, stood over a pan J containing charcoal, precisely simih
192. Cooking geese and different joints of meat. Tomb near the Pyramids
Figs, a a. Joints in caldrons, on the dresser 6. c. A table.
1. Preparing a goose for the cook (2), who puts them into the boiler d.
3. Roasting a goose over a fire (<;) of peculiar construction.
4. Cutting up the meat. I. Joints on a table.
g. Stewed meat over a pan of fire, or mafjoor.
to the magoor, used in modern Egypt ;§ and geese, or joints
meat, were roasted over a fire of a peculiar construction, intend
solely foT this purpose ;|| the cook passing over them a fan '■'
which served for bellows. In heating water, or boiling me; "
faggots of wood were principally employed ; but for the ro;
meat charcoal, as in the modern kitchens of Cairo ; and t
sculptures represent servants bringing this last in mats, of the sai
form as those of the present day. They sometimes used rou
* At 6.
+ Woodcut 192, ate?. % Ate.
II Ate. 1 At/.
§ At^
Chap. III. TABLES. BUEAT). ] 7',l
balls for cooking, probably a composition ef charcoal, and other
ingredients, which a servant is represented taking out of a basket,
and putting on the stove, while anotlier blows the fire with a
fan.
That dinner was served up at midday, may be inferred from
the invitation given by Joseph to his brethren ; but it is ))robabk-'
that, like the Romans, they also ate supper in the evening, as is
still the custom in the East. The table was much the same as
tliat of tlie present day in Egypt : a small stool, supporting a
round tray, on which the dishes are placed ; but it differed from
this in iiaving its circular summit fixed on a pillar, or leg, which
was often in the form of a man, generally a captive, who sup-
ported the slab upon his head ; the whole being of stone, or some
hard wood. On this the dishes were placed, together with
loaves of bread, some of which were not unlike those of the pre-
sent day in Egypt, flat and round as our crumpets. Others had
the form of rolls or cakes, sprinkled with seeds.
It was not generally covered with any linen, but, like the
Greek table, was washed with a sponge, or napkin, afier the
dishes were removed, and polished by the servants, when the
company had retired ; though an instance sometimes occurs of a
napkin spread on it, at least on those which bore offerings in
honour of the dead. One or two guests generally sat at a table,
though from the mention of persons seated in rows according to
rank, it has been supposed the tables were occasionally of a long
shape, as may have been the case when the brethren of Joseph
" sat before him, the first born according to his birth-right, and
the youngest according to his youth," Joseph eating alone at
anotlier table where '' they set on for him by himself." But
even if round, they might still sit according to rank ; one place
being always the post of honour, even at the present day, at the
round table of Egypt.
In the houses of the rich, bread was made of wheat ; the
poorer classes being contented witli cakes of barley, or of doom
(holcus sorghum), which last is still so commonly used by them ;
for Herodotus is as wrong in savins^: that thev thought it " the
180
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. HI.
greatest disgrace to live on wheat and barley," as that " no one
drank out of any but bronze (or brazen) cups." The drinking
cups of the Egyptians not only varied in their materials, but
also in their forms. Some were plain and unornamented ; others,
thoug-h of small dimensions, were made after the models of larger
vases ; many were like our own cups without handles ; and
others may come under the denomination of beakers, and saucers
Of these the former were frequently made of alabaster, with a
round base, so that they could not stand when filled, and were
held in the hand, or, when empty, were turned downwards upon
their rim : and the saucers, wliich were of glazed pottery, had some-
times lotus blossoms, or fish, represented on their concave surface.
193. Dlin.viug cups.
Fig. 1. An alabaster beaker, in the JIuseum of Alnwick Castle.
2. A saucer or cup of blue glazed pottery, in the Berlin Collection.
3. Side view of the same.
The tables, as at a Roman repast, were occasionally brought
in, and removed, with the dishes on them ; sometimes each joint
was served up separately, and the fruit, deposited in a plate or
trencher, succeeded the meat at the close of dinner ; but in less
fashionable circles, particularly of the olden time, fruit was brought
in baskets, which stood beside the table. The dishes consisted of
fish ; meat boiled, roasted, and dressed in various ways ; game,
Chap. III.
MODE OF EATING.
181
poultry, and a profusion of vegetables and fruit, particularly figs
and grapes, during the season ; and a soup, or " pottage of
194.
The table brought in \\ith the dishes upon it. Tomb near the Pyramids.
lentils," as witii the modern Egyptians, was not an unusual dish.
Of figs and grapes they were particularly fond, which is shown
by their constant introduction, even among the choice offerings
presented to tlie gods ; and figs of the sycamore must have been
highly esteemed, since they were
selected as the heavenly fruit, given
by the goddess Netpe to those who
were judged worthy of admission to
the regions of eternal happiness.
Fresli dates during the season, and
in a dried state at other periods of
the year, were also brought to table,
as well as a preserve of the fruit,
made into a cake of the same form
as the tamarinds now brousrht from
the interior of Africa, and sold in
the Cairo market.
The guests sat on the ground, or on stools and chairs, and, hav-
ing neither knives and forks, nor any substitute for them answer-
ing to the chopsticks of the Chinese, they ate with their fingers,
like the modern Asiatics, and invariably with the right hand ;
195. A cake of preserved dates, found
by me at Thebes. At a is a date stone.
182
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. HI.
nor did the Jews* and Etruscans, though they had forks for
other purposes, use any at table.
* 1 Sam. ii, 14.
Cn.AP. III.
SPOONS. LADLES.
183
S[)Oons were introduced when required for soup, or other
liquids ; and, perhaps, even a knife was employed on some
occasions, to facilitate the carving of a large joint, wliich is some-
times done in the East at tiie present day.
Fig. 1. Ivory spoon, about 4 inches long, in the Berlin
Museum, found with the vases of wood-cut 181.
2. Bronze spoon, in my possession, 8 inches in length.
3, 4. Bronze spoons, found b3' Jlr. Burton, at Thebes.
198. Of wood, in Mr.
Salt's Collection.
Tlie Egyptian spoons were of various forms and sizes. They
wore principally of ivory, bone, wood, or bronze, and other metals ;
and in some the handle terminated in a hook, by which, if re-
quired, they were suspended to a nail.* Many were ornamented
with the lotus flower ; the handles of others were made to repre-
* Woodcut 197, fg. 2.
184
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
19'j
Figs. 1, 2. Front and back of a ■«-ooden spoon.
3. Ivor}' spoon. Jlr. Salt's Collection.
200.
Alabaster shell and spoon. Museum of Alnvdck Castle.
201. Figs. 1, 2. Bronze simpula in the Berlin Museum,
3. Of hardwood, in the same Museum.
4. Bronze simpulmn, in my possession, 1 foot 6 inches long. It has been gilt.
sent an animal, or a human figure ; some were of very arbitrary
shape , and a smaller kind, of round form, probably intended for
Chap. III. WASHING BEFORE MEALS. 185
taking ointment out of a va«e, and transferring it toasliell or cup
for innnediate use, are occasionally discovered in the tombs of
Thebes. One in the Museum of Alnwick Castle is a perfect
specimen of these spoons, and is rendered more interesting from
having been found with tlie shell, its companion at the toilet-
table.*
Simpula, or ladles, were also common, and many have been
found at Thebes. They were of bronze, frequently gilt, and the
curved summit of the handle, terminating in a goose's head, a
favourite Egyptian ornament, served to suspend them at the side
of a vessel, after having been used for taking a liquid from it ;
and, judging from a painting on a vase in the Naples Museum,
where a priest is represented pouring a libation from a vase with
the simpulum, we may conclude this to have been the principal
purpose to which they were applied. The length of some was
eighteen inches, and the lower part or ladle nearly three inches
deep, and two and a half inches in diameter ; but many were
much smaller.
Some simpula were made with a joint, or hinge, in the centre of
the handle, so that the upper half either folded over the other, or
slided down behind it ; the extremity of each being furnished
with a bar which held them together, at the same time that it
allowed the upper one to pass freely up and down (Jigs. 1 , 2). Two
of these are preserved in the Berlin Museum. There is also a ladle
of hardwood, found with a case of bottles. It is very small ; the
lower part, which may properly be called the handle, being barely
more than five inches long, of very delicate workmanship ; and
the sliding rod, Avhich fits into a groove in tlie centre of the handle,
is about the thickness of a needle (Jig. 3).
Small strainers, or cullenders, of bronze have also been found
at Thebes, about five inches in diameter ; and several other
utensils.
The Egyptians washed after, as well as before, dinner ; an
invariable custom throughout the East, as among tiie Greeks,
* Woodcut 200.
186 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. III.
Romans, Hebrews,* and others ; and Herodotus speaks of a golden
basin, belonging- to Amasis, which was used by the King, aiid
'' the guests who were in the habit of eating at his table."
An absorbent seems also to have been adopted for scouring the
hands ; and a powder of ground lupins, the doqdq of modern
Egj'pt, is no doubt an old invention, handed down to the present
inhabitants.
Soap was not unknown to the ancients, and a small quantity
has been found at Pompeii. Pliny, who mentions it as an in-
vention of the Gauls, says it was made of fat and ashes ; and
Aretaeus, the physician of Cappadocia, tells us, that the Greeks
borrowed their knowledge of its medicinal properties from the
Romans. But there is no evidence of soap ha%'ing been used by
the Egyptians ; and if by accident they discovered something of
the kind, while engaged with mixtures of natron or potash,
and other ingredients, it is probable that it was only an absorbent,
without oil or grease, and on a par with steatite, or the argil-
laceous earths, with which, no doubt, they were long acquainted.
The Egyptians, a scrupulously religious people, were never
remiss in expressing their gratitude for the blessings they enjoyed,
and in returning thanks to the gods for that peculiar protection
they were thought to extend to them and to their countrj^, above
all the nations of the earth. They therefore never sat down to
meals without saying grace ; and Josephus says that when the
seventy-two elders were invited by Ptolemy Philadelphus to sup
at the palace, Nicanor requested Eleazer to say grace for his
countrymen, instead of those Egyptians, to whom that duty \Aas
committed on other occasions.
It was also a custom of the Egyptians, during or after their
repasts, to introduce a wooden image of Osiris, from one foot and
a half to three feet in height, in the form of a human mummy,
standing erect, or lying on a bier, and to show it to each of the
guests, warning liim of his mortality, and the transitory nature
of human pleasures. He was reminded that some day he would
* The Pharisees "marvelled that he had not first waslied before dinner."
Luke si. 38.
Chap. III.
FIGURE SHOWN TO THE GUESTS.
18;
202.
Figure of a raummy in the form of Osiris, brought to an Egyptian table,
and shown to the guests.
be like that fig-iire ; that men ought " to love one another, and
avoid those evils which tend to make them consider life too lon^.
when in reality it is too short ;" and while enjoying the blessings
of this world, to bear in mind that their existence was precarious,
and that death, vhich all ought to be prepared to meet, must
eventually close their earthly career. Thus, while the guests
were pennitted, and even encouraged, to indulge in conviviality,
the pleasures of the table, and the mirth so congenial to their
lively disposition, tliey were exhorted to put a certain degree of
restraint upon their conduct ; and though this sentiment was
perverted by other people, and used as an incentive to present
excesses, it was perfectly consistent with the ideas of the Egyp-
tians to be reminded that this life was only a lodging, or " inn "
on their way, and that their existence here was the preparation
fur a future state.
Widely different was the exhortation of Trimalchio, thus given
by Petronius : " To us, who were drinking, and admiring tlie splen-
dour of the entertainment, a silver model of a man was brought
by a servant, so contrived that its joints and moveable vertebrae
could be bent in any direction. After it had been produced
188 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. III.
upon the table two or three times, and had been made, by means
of springs, to assume different attitudes, Trimalcliio exclaimed,
' Alas, unhappy lot, how truly man is nought ! similar to this
shall we all be, when death has carried us away : therefore, while
we are allowed to live let us live well.' "
" The ungodly," too, of Solomon's time, thus expressed them-
selves : " Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man
there is no remedy ; neither was there any man known to have
returned from the grave. For we are born at all adventure, and
we shall be hereafter as though we had never been, .... come
on, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present, ....
let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments ; and let no
flower of the spring pass by us ; let us crown ourselves with rose-
buds, before they be withered ; let none of us go without his part
of our voluptuousness ; let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in
every place." *
But even if the Egyptians, like other men, neglected a good
warning, the original object of it was praiseworthy ; and Plutarch
expressly states that it was intended to convey a moral lesson.
Tlie idea of death had nothing revolting to them ; and so little
did the Egyptians object to have it brought before them, that
they even introduced the mummy of a deceased relative at their
parties, and placed it at table, as one of the guests ; a fact which
is recorded by Lucian, in his " Essay on Grief," and of svhich he
declares himself to have been an eyewitness.
After dinner, music and singing were resumed ; hired men
and women displayed feats of agility ; swinging each other round
by the hand ; tlu'owing up and catching the ball ; or Hinging them-
selves round backwards head-over-heels, in imi.tation of a wheel ;
which was usually a performance of women. They also stood
on each other's backs, and made a somerset from that jDosition ;
and a necklace, or other reward, was given to the most successful
tumbler.
The most usual games within doors were odd and even, mora,
* Book of Wisdom, ii. 1, et seq. Comp. L. xxii. 13, and Ivi. 12. Eccles. ii. 24.
Liike xii. 19, and 1 Cor. xv. 32.
Chap. III.
GAMES.
189
203.
3 4
Tumblers. Fig. 1, one of four holding the re-wards.
Bent Hatsan
204.
2 a b
Women tumbling, and performing feats of agllitj-.
Beni ffassan.
and draughts ; for the first of which (called by the Romans " ludere
par et impar ") they used bones, nuts, beans, almonds, or shells ;
and any indefinite number was held between the two hands.
The game of mora Mas common in ancient as well as modem
Italy, and wa.-* played by two persons, who each simultaneously
tlirew out the fingers of one hand, while one party guessed the
190
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
205.
Fig. 1. Playing at mora.
2. At odd and even.
Tliebes.
206.
1 b
Gaines of draughts and mora.
Seni ffassan.
sum of both. They were said in Latin, " micare digitis," and this
game, still so common among the lower orders of Italians, existed
in Egypt, about four thousand years ago, in the reigns of the
Osirtasens.
The same, or even a greater, antiquity may be claimed for
the game of draughts, or, as it has been erroneously called, chess.
As in the two former, the players sat on the ground, or on chairs,
and the pieces, or men, being ranged in line at either end of the
tables, moved on a chequered board, as in our own chess and
draughts.
The pieces were all of the same size and form, though they varied
on different boards, some being small, others large with rovuid
summits : some were surmounted by human heads ; and many
were of a lighter and neater shape, like small nine-pins, probably
the most fashionable kind, since they were used in the palace of
king Remeses. These last seem to have been about one inch
and a half high, standing on a circular base of half an inch
in diameter; but some are only one inch and a quarter in
CllAl'. HI.
GAME OF DRAUGHTS.
191
207. Draughtsmen.
Fig. 1. From the sculptures of Eemeses III.
2. Of wood, and -1, 5, of ivory, in my possession.
3. Of glazed pottery, from Thebes.
height, and little more than half an inch broad at the lower end.
Others have been found, of ivory, one inch and six-eighths high,
and one and an eighth in diameter, with a small knob at the top,
exactly like those represented at Beni Hassan, and the tombs near
the Pyramids {fiy. 4).
They were about equal in size upon the same board, one set
black, the other white or red ; or one with round, the other with
flat heads, standing on opposite sides ;* and each player, raising it
with tlie finger and thumb, advanced his piece towards those of
♦ Woodcuts 206, fg. 1, and 208, f 'J. 1.
192
THE A.NCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
in
L
Lfl l^
2U8.
Game of draughts.
Beni Hassan and Thebes.
his opponent ; but though we are unable to say if this was done
in a direct or a diagonal line, there is reason to believe they could
not take backwards as in the Polish game of draughts, the men
being mixed together on the board.*
It was an amusement .common in the houses of the lower classes
as in the mansions of the rich; and king Remeses is himself
portrayed on the walls of his palace at Thebes, engaged in the
game of draughts with the ladies of his household.
The modern Egyptians have a game of draughts, very similar,
in the appearance of the men, to that of their ancestors, which
tiiey call ddmeh, and play much in the same manner as our own.
AUl\A
^09
a h c
A game perhaps similar to the Greek kolkthismos.
Beni Hassan.
* As in woodcut 208, fig. 1.
CiiAP. ni.
AMUSEMENTS IN DOORS.
193
VOL. I.
i
194
THE ANOENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. 111.
210.
Game with a hoop.
211.
Other games.
rnni
rni — 'r^ir"
nnnn
ftnnnnnnnc
Beni Rassan,
I
Be7^i Idassaii.
21?.
Wooden boards.
In the Collection of Dr. Abbott.
Chap. HI.
OTHER GAMES; DICE.
195
Analogous to flie ffamo of odd and even was one, in which two
of the pUiyers held a number of shells, or dice, in their closed
hands, over a third person who knelt between them, with his face
towards the ground, and who was obliged to guess the combined
immber ere he could be released from this position.
Another game consisted in endeavouring to snatch from eacli
other a small hoop, by means of hooked rods, probably of metal ;
and the success of a player seems to have depended on extricating
his own from an adversary's rod, and then snatching up the
hoop, before he had time to stop it.
There were also two games, of which the boards, wifh the men.
are in tiie possession of Dr. Abbott. One is eleven inches long
by three and a half, and has ten spaces or squares in three rows ;
the other twelve squares at tiie upper end (or four squares in
three rows) and a long line of eight squares below, forming an
approach to tlie upper part, like the arrangement of German
tactics. The men in tiie di'awer of the board are of two shapes,
one set ten, tiie other nine in number.
Other games are represented in, the paintings, but not in a
maimer to render them intelligible ; and many, which were
doubtless common in Etjypt, are omitted both in the tombs, and
in the writings of ancient authors.
The dice discovered at Thebes, and other places, may not be of
a Pharaonic period, but, from the simplicity of their form, we may
suppose them similar to those of the earliest age, in which too
tiie conventional number of six sides liad probably always been
adopted. Tliey were markeil witii small circles, representing
units, generally with a dot in the centre ; and were of bone or
ivory, varying slightly in size.
213.
Dice found in Egypt.
Berlin Museum.
o 2
196
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. m.
Plutarch shows that dice were a very early invention in Egypt,
and acknowledged to be so by the Egyptians themselves, since
they were introduced into one of their oldest mythological fables ;
Mercury being represented playing at dice with the Moon, pre-
vious to the birth of Osiris, and winning from her the five days
of the epact, which were added to complete the 365 days of the
year.
It is probable that several games of chance were known to the
Egyptians, besides dice and mora, and, as with the Komans, that
many a doubtful mind sought relief in the promise of success, by
having recburse to fortuitous coriabinations of various kinds ; and
the custom of drawing, or casting lots, was common, at least as
early as the period of the Hebrew Exodus.
The games and amusements of children were such as tended
to promote health by the exercise of the body, and to divert the
mind by laughable entertainments. Throwing and catching the
ball, running, leaping, and similar feats, were encouraged, as
soon as their age enabled them to indulge in them ; and a young
214.
Wooden doUs.
child was amused with painted dolls, whose hands and legs
moving on pins, were made to assume various positions by means
CUAP. 111.
TOYS.
1117
of strings. Some of these were of rude form, without legs, or
with an imperfect representation of a single arm on one side.
Some had numerous beads, in imitation of liair, Iianging from
the doubtful place of the head ; others exhibited a nearer ap-
proach to the form of a man ; and some, made with considerable
attention to proportion, were small models of the human figure.
They were coloured according to fancy ; and the most shapeless
had usually the most gaudy appearance, being intended to catch
the eye of an infant. Sometimes a man was figured washing,
or kneading dough, who W'as made to work by pulling a string ;
and a typhonian monster, or a crocodile, amused a child by its
grimaces, or the motion of its opening mouth. In the toy of the
crocodile, we have sufficient evidence that the notion of this
215
Children's toys.
Leyden Museufn.
animal " not moving its lower jaw, and being the only creature
which brings the upper one down to tlie lower," is' erroneous.
Like other animals, it moves the lower jaw onfi/ ; but when seizing
its prey, it throws up its head, which gives an appearance of
motion in the upper jaw, and has led to the mistake.
198
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. UI.
216.
Playing the game of ball moxinted on each other's backs. Beni Hassan.
217.
Throwing up and catching one, two, and three balls.
Seni ffassan.
The .g-ame of ball was of course generally played out of doors.
It was not confined to children, nor to one sex, though the mere
amusement of throwing and catching it appears to have been
considered more particularly adapted to women. They had
different modes of playing. Sometimes a person unsuccessful in
catching the ball was obliged to suffer another to ride on her
Chap. m.
GAME OF BALL.
190
i
BO
^ I?
a
a
te
back, who continued to CMijoy this post until .«he also missed it ;
the ball beino; thrown by an opposite i)layer, mounted in the
same manner, and placed at a certain distance, accordiupj to the
200
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
space previously agreed upon ; and, from the beast-of-burden
office of the person who had failed, the same name was probably
applied to her as to those in the Greek game, " who w^ere called
o}'oi (asses), and were obliged to submit to the commands of the
victor."
Sometimes they caught three or more balls in succession, the
hands occasionally crossed over the breast ; they also threw it up
to a height and caught it, like the Greek ovpavia, our '" sky ball ;"
and the game described by Homer to have been played by Halius
and Laodamus, in the presence of Alcintius, was known to them ;
in which one party threw the ball as high as he could, and the
other, leaping up, caught it on its fall, before his feet again
touched the ground.
When mounted on the backs of the losing party, the Egyptian
women sat sidewise. Their dress consisted merely of a short
petticoat, without a body, the loose upper robe being laid aside
on these occasions : it was bound at the waist with a girdle, sup-
ported by a strap over the shoulder, and was nearly the same as
the undress garb of mourners, worn during the funeral lamenta-
tion on the deatli of a friend.
The balls were made of leather or skin, sewed with string,
crosswise, in the same manner as our own, and stuffed with bran,
or husks of corn ; and those which have been found at Thebes
are about three inches in diameter. Others were made of string,
or of the stalks of rushes, platted together so as to form a circular
mass, and covered, like the former, with leather. They appear also
219.
Fig. 1. Loatlier ball, three inches in diameter.
2. Of painted earthenwjre. From Mr. Salfs Collection.
Cmvp. III.
OTHER GAMES.
201
to have liad a smaller kind of ball, probably of the same materials,
and covered, like many of our own, with slips of leather of a
rhomboidal shape, sewed together longitudinally, and meeting in
a common point at both ends, each alternate slip being of a dif-
ferent colour ; but tliese have only been met with in pottery.
In one of their performances of strength and dexterity, two
men stood together side by side, and, placing one arm for-
2'jt
1 2 3
Men swinging women round y the arms
Beni Hassan.
HB A/v^s. ^^
iiVWNA
221.
1 2
Rising from the ground.
Beni Kaftan.
202
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. UI.
a
a
3
S
to
a
ClIAP. III.
TlllMBLE-KIG.
203
ward and the other behind tlicia, held the hands of two women,
who reclined backwards, in opj)()site directions, with their whole
weig'ht pressed against each other's feet, and in this position were
whirled round ; tiie hands of the men who held them beiny occa-
sionally crossed, in order more effectually to guarantee the steadi-
ness of the centre, on which they turned.
ISometinies two men, seated back to l)ack on the aground, at a
given siijnal tried who should rise first from that position, without
touching the ground with the hand. And in tliis, too, there was
probably the trial who should first make good his seat upon
the ground, from a standing position.
Another game consisted in throwing a knife, or pointed wea-
pon, into a block of wood, in which each player was required to
strike his adversary's, or more probably to fix his own in the
centre, or at the circumference, of a ring painted on the wood ;
and his success depended on being able to ring his weapon most
frequently, or approach most closely to the line.
Conjiu-ing appears also to have been known to them, at least
thimble-rig, or the game of cups, under which a ball was put,
■J23.
Oonjurors, or thimble-rig. From the uork of Professor Kosellini.
while the opposite party guessed imder which of four it was con-
cealed.
The Egyptian grandees frequently admitted dwarfs, and de-
formed persons, into their household ; originally, perhaps, from a
204
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. HI.
224, Dwarfs and deformed persons in the service of the Egyptian grandees.
Bcni Hassan.
The stone is broken in that part where the hands should he.
humane motive, or from some superstitious regard for men who
bore the external character of one of their principal gods, Pthah-
Sokari-Osiris, the misshapen Deity of Memphis ; but, whatever
may have given rise to the custom, it is a singular fact, that
already as early as the age of Osirtasen, or about 4000 years ago,
the same fancy of attaching these persons to their suite existed
among the Egyptians, as at Rome, and even in modern Europe,
till a late period.
The games of the lower orders, and of tliose who sought to
invigorate the body by active exercises, consisted of feats of
agility and strength. Wrestling was a favourite amusement ;
and the paintings at Beni Hassan present all the varied attitudes
and modes of attack and defence of which it is susceptible. And,
in order to enable the spectator more readily to perceive the posi-
tion of the limbs of eacli combatant, the artist has availed himself
of a dark and light colour, and even ventured to introduce alter-
nately a black and red figure The subject covers a whole wall ;
206
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
but the selection of a few groups will suffice to convey an idea of
the principal positions of the combatants. ( Woodcut 225.)
It is probable that, like the Greeks, they anointed the body
with oil, when preparing for these exercises, and they were
entirely naked, with the exception of a girdle, apparently of
leathern thongs.
The two combatants generally approached each other, holding
their anns in an inclined position before the body ; and each en-
deavoured to seize his adversary in the manner best suited to his
mode of attack. It was allowable to take hold of any part of the
body, the head, neck, or legs ; and the struggle was frequently
continued on the ground, after one or both had fallen ; a mode of
wrestling common also to the Greeks.
They also fought with the single stick, the hand being appa-
rently protected by a basket, or guard projecting over the
knuckles ; and on the left arm they wore a straight piece of
wood, bound on with straps, serving as a shield to ward off their
adversary's blow. They do not, however, appear to have used
the cestus, nor to have kiiown the art of boxing ; though in one
group, at Beni Hassan, the combatants appear to strike each
other. Kor is there an instance, in any of these contests, of the
226.
Singlestick.
F7-om the irork of I'rofessor Rosellini.
Greek sign of acknowledging defeat, which Mas by holcUng up a
finger in token of submission ; and it was prol)ably done by the
Chap. III.
FEATS OF STRENGTH.
207
Egyptians with a word. It is also doubtful if throwing' the
discus, or quoit, w as an Egyptian game ; but there appears to be
one instance of it, in a king's tomb of the 19th dynasty.
One of tlieir feats of strength, or dexterity, was lifting weights ;
and bags full of sand were raised with one hand from the ground
1 2 3
22". Raising weights. From the Kork of Professor Jiosellini.
and carried with a straight arm over the head, anrl licld in that
position.
Mock fights were also an amusement, particularly among those
of the military class, who were trained to the fatigues of war. by
these manly recreations. One party attacked a temporary fort,
and brought up the battering ram, under cover of the testudo ;
another defended the walls and endeavoured to repel the enemy ;
others, in two parties of equal numbers, engaged in single stick,
or the more usual nebdof. a pole m ielded with both hands ; and
the pugnacious spirit of the people is frequently alluded to in the
scenes portrayed by their artists.
The use of the neboot seems to have been as common among
the ancient, as among the modern, Egyptians ; and the quarrels
of villages were often decided or increased, as at present, by this
208
Cii.vr. 111.
BILL-FIGHTS.
209
efficient weapon. Crews of boats are also represented attack -
ills' each other with tlie earne.stness of real strife. Some are
desperately wounded, and. beinij felled by their more skilful
opponents, are thrown headlong into the water ; and the truth of
Herodotus's assertion, that the heads of the Egyptians were harder
than those of other people, seems fully justified by the scenes de-
scribed bv their own drauu^htsmen. It is fortunate that their
successors have inherited this peculiarity, in order to bear the
violence of the Turks, and their own combats.
Many singular encounters with sticks are mentioned by ancient
authors ; among which may be noticed one at Papremis, the city
of ]Mars, described by Herodotus. AYhen the votaries of the
deity presented themselves at the gates of the temple, their en-
trance was obstructed by an opposing party ; and all being armed
with sticks, they commenced a rude combat, which ended, not
merely in the infiictioii of a few severe wounds, but even, a^^ the
historian affirms, in the death of many persons on either side.
i'r^!<>ii»
A buU-fight. Tt.dxs.
Bull-fights were also among their sports ; which were some-
times exhibited in the drotnos, or avenue, leading to the temples,
as at I\Iempliis before the temple of Vulcan ; and prizes were
VOL. 1. !■
210
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. III.
awarded to the owner of the victorious combatant. Great care
was taken in training them for this purpose ; Strabo says as
nmch as is usually bestowed on horses ; and herdsmen were not
N/f4— .1
#^01 >aj::7^ -^ fSn
230.
Bull-fight.
Beni Hassan.
loth to allow, or encourage, an occasional fight for the love of the
exciting and popular amusement.
They did not, however, condemn culprits, or captives taken in
war, to fight with wild beasts, for the amusement of an unfeeling
assembly ; nor did they compel gladiators to kill each other, and
gratify a depraved taste by exhibitions revolting to humanity.
Their great delight was in amusements of a lively character, as
music, dancing, buflx)onery, and feats of agility ; and those who
excelled in gymnastic exercises were rewarded with prizes of
various kinds ; which in the country towns consisted, amojag
other things, of cattle, dresses, and skins, as in the games cele-
brated in Chemmis.
The lively amusements of the Egyptians show that they had
not the gloomy character so often attributed to them ; and it is
satisfactory to have these evidences by which to judge of it, in
default of their physiognomy, so unbecomingly altered by death,
bitumen, and bandages. The intellectual capabilities, however,
of individuals may yet be subject to the decision of the phreno-
logist ; and if they have escaped the ordeal of the supjwsed
spontaneous rotation of a pendulum under a glass bell, their
Chap. II
EGYPTIAN AMUSEMENTS,
211
handwriting' is still opfii t(j the
criticisms of the wise, \\lio dis-
cover by it the most minute secrets
of character ; and some of tiie old
scribes may even now be amenable
to this kind of scrutiny. But they
are fortunately out of reach of the
surprise, that some in modern days
exhibit, at the exact likeness of
themselves, believed to be pre-
sented to them from tlieir own
handwriting by a few clever gene-
ralities ; forgetting that the sick
man, in each malady he reads of
in a book of medicine, discovers
his own symptoms, and fancies
they correspond with his own par-
ticular case. For though a certain
neatness, or precision, carelessness,
or other habit, may be discovered
by handwriting, to describe from
it all the minutise of character is
only feeding the love of the mar-
vellous, so mucii on the increase
in these days, when a reaction of
credulity bids fair to make nothing
too extravagant for our modern
gobe-mouches.
View of the Ruins and Vicinity of PhilEe,
CHAPTER IV.
THE CHASE WILD ANIMALS — DOGS — BIRDS — FISHING — CHASE OF THE
HIPPOPOTAMUS — CROCODILE — ITS EGGS — THE TROCHILtJS — LIST OF THE
ANIMALS OF EGYPT — BIRDS PLANTS — EMBLEMS — OFFERINGS — CERE-
MONIES.
Among the various pastimes of the Egyptians, none was more
popular than the chase ; and the wealthy aristocracy omitted
nothing that could promote their favourite amusement. They
hunted the numerous wild animals in the desert ; they had them
cauglit with nets, to be turned out on some future day ; and some
very keen sportsmen took long journeys to spots noted for abund-
ance of game.
The taste, as far as it could be indulged, was general with
all classes ; and the peasants hunted down the wild beasts that
lived on the borders of the desert, and invaded the flocks and
fields at night, with the same alacrity as the priestly and military
grandees, or other wealthy land owners, chased the game in their
preserves. Some shot them with an'ows, others laid traps
for them, and various methods were devised for securing the
enemies of the farm-yard. Watchers and dogs were always on
-the alert against wolves and jackals, the poachers of their flocks
and poultry ; and when the peasants heard the melancholy howls
and yelping bark of the large packs of jackals, collecting every
evening in anticipation of a foray among the geese, they waited
ClIAl'. 1\ .
THE CUASE.
213
for thfir well-knov. n passage through a ravine, on the desert's
edge, or longed tliat some, in spite of Anubis, might fall into
their traps.
Tlie hyaena, an enemy of flocks and herds, a gourmand in tlie
flesh of the peasant's very useful donkey, and, when none of these
eould be had. a very destructive devourer of tlie crops, was
especially hateful ; and the agricultural heart rejoiced when a
hyaiua, caught in a trap, was brought home muzzled, as a
harmless spectacle to the children of the village, and a triumph
among the neighbours.
232.
Hyana caugUl in a trap.
Thebes.
When a grand chase took place in the domain of some grandee,
or in the extensive tracts of the desert, a retiime of huntsmen,
beaters, and others in his service attended, to manage the hounds,
to carry^ the game-baskets and hunting poles, to set the nets, and
to make other preparations for a good day's sport. vSome took a
fresh supply of arrows, a spare bow, and various requisites for
remedying accidents ; some were merely beaters, otliers were to
assist in securing the large animals caught by the lasso, others
had to mark or turn the game, and some carried a stock of pro-
visions for the chasseur and his friends. These la.-t were borne
upon the usual wooden yoke, acro.ss the shoulders, and consisted
of a skin of water, and jars of good wine placed in wicker baskets,
with bread, meats, and other eatables. The skin used for holding
water was precisely the same as that of the present day, l)eing
214 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
of a goat, or a gazelle, stripped from the body by a longitudinal
opening at the throat ; the legs serving as handles, to which
ropes for slinging them were attached ; and a soft pendent tube
of leather, sewed to the throat, in the place of the head, formed
the mouth of the water skin, which was secured by a thong
fastened round it.
Sometimes a portion of the desert, of considerable extent, was
enclosed by nets, into which the animals were driven by beaters ;
and the place chosen for fixing them was, if possible, across narrow
valleys, or torrent beds, lying between some rocky hills. Here
a sportsman on horseback, or in a chariot, could waylay them, or
get within reach with a bow ; for many animals, particularly
gazelles, when closely pressed by dogs, fear to take a steep ascent,
and are easily overtaken, or shot as they double back.
The spots thus enclosed were usuallj' in the vicinity of the
water brooks, to which they were in the habit of repairing in the
morning and evening : and having awaited the time when they
went to drink, and ascertained it by their recent tracks on the
accustomed path, the hunters disposed the nets, occupied proper
positions for observing them unseen, and gradually closed in
upon them. Such are the scenes partially portrayed in the
Egyptian paintings, ^^'here long nets are represented surrounding
the space they hunted in ; and the hyaenas, jackals, and various
wild beasts unconnected with the sport, are intended to show
that they have been accidentally enclosed, within the same line
of nets with the antelopes and other animals.
In the same way ^neas and Dido repaired to a wood at break
of day, after the attendants had surroimded it with a temporary
fence, to enclose the game.
The long net was furnished with several ropes, and was suj)-
ported on forked poles, varying in length, to correspond with the
inequalities of the ground, and was so contrived as to enclose any
space, by crossing hills, valleys, or streams, and encircling woods,
or whatever might -present itself; smaller nets for stopping gaps
were also used ; and a circular snare, set round with wooden or
metal nails, and attached by a rope to a log of wood, which
Chap. IV.
PRESERVES FOR GAME.
215
was used for catching deer, resembled one still made by the
Arabs.
The dresses of the atteiulauts and liuntsmen were generally
of a suppressed colour, " lest they should be seen at a distance
by the animals," tight fitting, and reaching only a short way
down the thigh ; and the horses of the chariots were divested of
the featiiers, and showy ornaments, used on other occasions.
233.
Carrying young animals.
Tomb near the Pyramidi.
Besides the portions of the open desert and the valleys, which
were enclosed for hunting, the parks and covers on their own
domains in the valley of the Nile, though of comparatively
limited dimensions, offered ample space and opportunity for in-
dulging in the chase ; and a quantity of game was kept there ;
principally the wild goat, ory.x, and gazelle.
Tlu'v had also fishponds, and spacious poulfrv-vards set apart
for keeping geese, and other wild fowl, which they fattened for
the table.
It was the duty of the huntsmen, or the gamekeepers, to super-
intend the preserves ; and at proper periods of the year wild
fawns were obtained, to increase the herds of gazelles and other
animals, which always formed part of the stock of a wealthy
Egyptian.
Being fed within pastures enclosed with fences, they were not
216
^^■^^^%Jiv^.. ■^*-iY*'T^^"
Chap. IV
e
0,
3
a
M
m
I
Chap. IV.
MARKING CATTLE.
•17
marked in any particular way like the cattle, which, beiii? let
loose, in open meadows, and frequently allowed to mix with the
herds of the neighbours, required some distinguishing sign by
which they might be recognised. These last were, therefore.
218 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
branded on the shoulder with a hot iron, engraved with the
owner's name ; and the paintings of Thebes represent the cattle
lying on the ground with their feet tied, while one person heats
an iron on the fire, and another applies it to the shoulder of the
prostrate animal. ( Woodcut 235.)
The Egyptians frequently coursed with dogs in the open
plains, the chasseur following in his chariot, and the huntsmen
on foot. Sometimes he only drove to cover in his car, and
having alighted, shared in the toil of searching for the game, his
attendants keeping the dogs in slips, ready to start them as soon
as it appeared. The more usual custom, when the dogs threw
off in a level plain of great extent, was for him to remain in his
chariot, and, urging his horses to their full speed, endeavour to
turn or intercept them as they doubled, discharging a well di-
rected arrow whenever they came within its range.
The dogs were taken to the ground by persons expressly em-
ployed for that purpose, and for all the duties connected with the
kennel ; and were either started one by one, or in pairs, in the
narrow valleys or open plains : and when coursing on foot, the
chasseur and his attendant huntsmen, acquainted with the direc-
tion and sinuosities of the torrent beds, shortened the road, as
they followed across the intervening hills, and sought a favour-
able opportunity for using the bow ; or enjoyed the course in the
level space before them.
Having pursued on foot, and arrived at the spot where the
dogs had caught their prey, the huntsman, if alone, took up the
game, tied its legs together, and hanging it over his shoulders,
once more led by his hand the coupled dogs, precisely in the
same manner as the Arabs do at the present day. But this was
generally the office of persons who carried the cages and baskets
on the usual wooden yoke, and who took charge of the game as
soon as it was caught ; the supply of these substitutes for our
game cart being in proportion to the proposed range of the chase,
and the number of head they expected to kill. Sometimes an
ibex, oryx, or wild ox, being closely pressed by the hounds,
faced round and kept them at bay, with its formidable horns, and
Chap. IV
BRINGING HOME THE GAME.
219
236.
A huntsman canying home the game, with his coupled dogs. Thnl>€S.
237. Uriiiging home the game : a gazelle, porcupines, and hare. Bcni Hassan.
the spear of the huntsman, as he came up, was required to decide
the success of the cliase.
It frequently happened, m hen the chasseur had many attend-
ants, and the district to be hunted was extensive, that they divided
220
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
into parties, each taking one or more dogs, and starting them on
\\hatever animal broke cover ; sometimes they went m ithout
hounds, merely having a small dog for searching the bushes, or
laid in wait for the larger and more formidable animals, and
attacked them with the lance.
The noose, or las!<o, was also employed to catch the wild ox.
the antelope, and other animals ; but this could only be thrown
238.
Catching a gazelle with the noose.
Beni Hassan.
by lying in ambush for the purpose, and was principally adopted
when they wished to secure them alive.
Besides the bow, the hounds, and the noose, they hunted with
lions, which were trained expressly for the chase, like the cheeta,
239.
Catching a wild ox with the noose or lasso.
Beni Hassav.
<:iiAP. IV.
IIUNTJNG TITII .IONS.
221
I
=5 2
■3 -o
:: ^
— .2
o
or hunting leopard of India, being l^roiight up from cubs in a
tame state ; and many Egyptian mouarchs were accompanied in
battle by a favourite lion. But there is no instance of hawking.
The bow used for the chase was very similar to that employed
in war ; the arrows were generally the same, with metal heads,
222
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
ClIAP. IV.
though some were only tipped with stone. The mode of drawing
the bow was also the same ; and if the chasseurs sometimes
pulled the string only to the breast, the more usual method was
224 THE AKCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. TV.
to raise it, and bring the arrow to the ear ; and occasionallj', one
or more spare arrows were held in the hand, to give greater
facility in discharging them with rapidity, on the antelopes and
wild oxen.
The animals they chiefly hunted were the gazelle, wild goat
or ibex, the oryx, wild ox, stag, kebsh or wild sheep, hare, and
porcupine ; of all of which the meat was highly esteemed among
the delicacies of the table ; the fox, jackal, wolf, hyaena, and
leopard, and others, being chased as an amusement, for the sake
of their skins, or as enemies of the farm-yard. For though the
fact of the hyaena being sometimes bought mth the ibex and
gazelle might seem to justify the belief that it was also eaten, there
is no instance of its being slaughtered for the table. The ostrich
held out a great temptation to the hunter frora^ the value of its
plumes. These were in great request among the Egyptians for
ornamental purposes ; they were also the sacred symbol of truth ;
and the members of the court on grand occasions decked them-
selves with the feathers of the ostrich. The labour endured
during the chase of this s\\ift-fboted bird was amply repaid ; even
its eggs were required for some ornamental or for some religious
use (as with the modern Copts) ; and, with the plumes, formed
part of the tribute imposed by the Egyptians on the conquered
countries where it abounded. Lion hunting was a favourite
amusement of the kings, and the deserts of Ethiopia always
afforded good sport, abounding sis they did with lions ; their
success on those occasions was a triumph they often recorded ;
and Amunoph III. boasted having brought down in one battue no
less than one hundred and two head, either with the bow or spear.
For the chase of elephants they went still further south ; and,
in after times,^ the Ptolemies had hunting palaces in Abyssinia.
Many other animals are introduced in the sculptures, besides
those already noticed, some of which are well worthy of heraldry ;
as winged quadrupeds with the heads of hawks, or of a snake ; and
a crocodile with a hawk's head ; with others equally fanciful ; and
were it not for their great antiquity (as early as the 12th
dynasty), might be supposed to derive their origin from Asia,
I
243
n^. A chase in tin- tlLScrt of Thebaid. Thchet.
To the left of A was the chiu-seiir in his chariot shooting with the bow, nw defaced.
Figs. 1. 9, 15, 18. Gazelles. 2,11. Hares. 3. Ft-inale liya;na, with its young. 4, 13. Foxes.
5. Porcupine. 6. Ily.iMia arrivtd at the top of a hill, and looking towards the chasseur
7. The ibex. 8, 14. Hounds. 12. Ostriches (rft/o-W). IC. The oryi. .'9. V\ ild oxen.
VOL. I. Q
226
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
The Egyptian sphinx was usually an emblematic figure, re-
presentative of the king, and may be considered, when with the
head of a man and the body of a lion, as the union of intellect
and physical force ; it is therefore scarcely necessary to observe
that it is not female, as that of the Greeks. Besides the ordi-
nary sphinx, compounded of a lion and a man, was one with
244.
Monsters, in the paintings of Beni Hassan and Thebes.
the head of a ram, another with the hawk's head and lion's body
and the asp- headed and the hawk-headed sphinx \vith wings.
The wild animals now most noted in Egypt, either in the Valley
Chap. IV. WILD ANIMALS OF EGYPT. 227
of the Nile, or in the desert, are tlie guzelle, ibex, kebsh, hare, fox,
jackal, wolf, hyajiia, yrrioa, hedgehog-, and ichneumon.
The oryx* is a native of Ethiopia, as is the spotted hyaena or
marafeen ; wliich last is once represented in the Egyi)tian
sculptures. The oryx has long annulutcd horns, tapering to a
sharp point, and nearly straight, with a slight curve or inclination
backwards. It frequently occurs in the sculptures, being among
the animals tamed by tlie Egyptians, and kept in great numbers
in their preserves.
Tlie helsa is very like the oryx, except in the black marks
upon its face, and a few other points ; and the addax, another
antelope, inhabiting Upper Ethiopia, differs principally from the
orj'x in its horns, wliicii have a waving or spiral form. It appears
to be represented in the sculptures of Beni Hassan. "j"
The A\ ild ox, which is also of the genus antUope, the defdssa of
modern zoologists, thougli not a native of Egypt, is found in the
African desert, and I believe in Eastern Ethiopia ; it is of a
reddish sandy and grey colour, with a black tuft terminating its
tail, and stands about four feet high at the shoulder. At Beni
HassanJ: it is made too much to resemble a common ox, but it
is more correctly represented in the Theban seulptures.§
The stag with branching horns, |1 figured at Beni Hassan, is
also unknown in the Valley of the Nile ; but it is still .seen in the
vicinity of the Natron Lakes, as about Tunis, though not in the
desert between the river and the Red Sea.
The ibex,^ which is common in the Eastern desert, is very
similar to the bouquetin of the Alps, and is called in Arabic
Bcddan, or Tdytal. Tlie former appellation is exclusively
applied to the male, which is readily distinguished by a beard
and large knotted horns, curving l)ackwards over its body ; the
female having short erect horns, scarcely larger than those of
the gazelle, and being of a nmch smaller and lighter structure.
The kebsh, or wild sheep, is found in the Ea.stern desert
* Woodcut 2-l2,Jiy. '2. t Woodcut 1^1, fig. 7.
X Woodcut 24 \, figs. 4 and 5. § Woodcut 24'S. fig. 19.
II Woodcut 242, fig. 9. ^ Woodcut 242, fig. 1 ; 243,^*;. 7.
Q 2
228 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
principally in the ranges of primitive mountains, which, com-
mencing about latitude 28° 40', at the back of the limestone hills
of the Valley of the Nile, extend thence into Ethiopia and
Abyssinia. The female kebsh is between two and three feet
high at the shoulder, and its total length from the tail to the
end of the nose is a little more than four feet : but the male is
larger, and is provided with stronger horns, which are about five
inches in diameter at the roots, and are curved backwards on each
side of the neck. The whole body is covered with hair, like many of
the Ethiopian sheep, and the throat and thighs of the fore legs are
furnished with a long pendent mane ; a peculiarity not omitted in
the sculptures, and which suffices to prove the identity of the kebsh,
wherever its figure is represented. ( Woodcut 242, Jig. 10.)
The porcupine is no lonsjer a native of Egypt ; nor is the leopard
met with on this side of Upper Ethiopia. Bears are altogether
unknown, and, if they occur twice in the paintings of the Theban
tombs, they are only brought by foreigners, together with the
productions of their country, which were deemed rare and curious
to the Egyptians.
The wolf is common, and, as Herodotus says, "scarcely larger
than a fox ;" and the tombs in the mountain above Lycopolis,
the modern O'Sioot, contain the mummies of wolves, which were
the sacred animals of the place.
The Egyptian hare is a native of tlie Valley of the Nile, as
well as of the two deserts ; and is remarkable for the length of its
ears, which the Egyptians have not failed to indicate in their
sculptures. It is a smaller species than those of Europe ; which
accords with Denon's remark on the comparative size of animals
conunon to Egypt and Europe, that the former are always smaller
than our own.
The tvabber or hyrax, though a native of the eastern desert of
Egypt, is not represented in the sculptures ; but this is probably
owing to its habits, and to their hunting principally in the valleys
of the secondary mountains ; the wabber only venturing a short
distance from its burrow in the evening, and living in the
primitive ranges wliere the seiileh or acacia grows. It was pro-
Chap. IV. LION. ICHNEUMON. 22^J
bably the saphaii of the Bible, as Bruce has remarked, aijd that
enterprising' traveller is perfectly correct in placing it anion"-
ruminating- animals. The hedgehog was always common, as at
present, in tlie Valley of the Nile.
Tiie lion is now unknown to tlie north of Upper Ethiopia :
there, however, it is common, as well as tlie leopard, and otlier
carnivorous beasts ; and the abundance of sheep in those districts
amply supplies them \\\X\\ food, and has the happy tendency of
rendering them less dangerous to man. In ancient times, how-
ever, the lion inliabited the deserts of Egypt, and Athenaeus
mentions one killed by the Emperor Adrian, while hunting near
Alexandria. They are even said, in former times, to have been
found in Syria, and in Greece.
Among the animals confined to the Valley of the Nile, and its
immediate vicinity, may be mentioned the ichneumon, which
lives principally in Lower Egypt and the Fyoom, and which,
from its enmity to serpents, was looked upon by the Egyptians
with great respect. Its dexterity in attacking the snake is truly
surprising. It seizes the enemy at the back of the neck, as soon
as it perceives it rising to the attack, one firm bite sufficing to
destroy it ; and when wounded by the venomous fangs of its
opponent, it is said by the Arabs to have recourse to some herb,
which checks tiie effect of the deadly poison.
The ichneumon is easily tamed, and is sometimes seen in the
houses of Cairo, where, in its hostility to rats, it jierforms all the
duties of a cat ; but, from its indiscriminate fondness for eggs,
poultr)', and many other requisites for the kitchen, it is generally
reckoned troublesome, and I have often found reason to complain
of tliose I kept.
Eggs are its favourite food, and it is said to have been greatly
venerated by those who held the crocodile in abhorrence, in
consequence of its destroying the eggs of that hateful animal : but
it is now rarely met with in places where the crocodile abounds ;
and at all periods its principal recommendation was its hostility
to serpents. It is frequently seen in the paintings, where its
habits are distinctly alluded to by tlie Egyptian artists, wlio
230
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
represent it in search of eggs, among the bushes, and the usual
resorts of the feathered tribe.
The wild cat, the felis cJiaiis of Linnaeus, is common in the
vicinity of the Pyramids and Heliopolis, but it does not occur
among the pictured animals of ancient Egypt. Nor is the jerboa,
so frequently met with both in the upper and lower country,
represented in the sculptures.
245.
Various kinds of dogs, from the sculptures.
Chap. IV. DOGS; PIGS; CATTLE ; HORSES. 231
The giraffe was not a native of Egj'pt, but of Ethiopia, and is
only introduced in subjects which relate to that country, where
it is brouglit with apes, rare woods, and other native productions,
as part of the triliute annually paid to the Pharaohs.
The Eg)'i)tians had several breeds of dogs, some solely used for
the chase, others admitted into the parlour, or as companions of
their walks; and some, as at the present day, were chosen for
their peculiar ugliness. The most connnon kinds were a sort of
fox-dog, and a hound ; they had also a short-legged dog, not
unlike our turnspit, w liich was a great favourite, especially in
the reigns of the Osirtasens ; and, as in later days, the choice of
a king, or some noted personage, brought a particular breed into
fashion.
Mummies of the fox-dog are connnon in Upper Egypt ; and
this was doubtless the parent stock of the modern red wild dotj
of Egypt, so common in Cairo, and other parts of the lower
country.
Pigs, though an abomination to the Egyptians, fonned part of
a farmer's stock ; but, attentive to the iiabits of animals, they
allowed them to range and feed out of doors, under the care of a
herdsman ; knowing that cleanliness is as beneficial for, as the
confinement in a sty is contrary to, the nature of a pig.
Their cattle were of different kinds ; the most common being
the short and long horned varieties, and the Indian or humped
ox ; and the two last, though no longer natives of Egypt, are
common in Abyssinia and Upper Ethiopia. The buffalo, which
abounds in Abyssinia and in modem Egypt, is never represented
on the monuments.
Horses and asses were abundant, and the latter were employed
as beasts of burden, for treading out corn (particularly in Lower
Egypt) and for many other purposes. Like those of the present
day, they were small, active, and capable of bearing great fatigue ;
and, as these hardy animals were maintained at a very trifling
expense, their numbers in the agricultural districts were verj-
great, and one individual had as many as seven hundred and sixty
employed on different parts of his estate.
„XJK- P, ^~ yJ^'-'^ ^X»
246.
20 21
Some of the birds of Ecvpt. Bent ffanan and *M Tambs near the Pyramids.
Figs. 18, 19, 20. Bats. 21. The locust. " "••''^"■'
From Thebts.
247.
16 17
Some of (he birds of Egypt.
Beni Bauan.
234 THE ANCIENT EGYPTrANS. Chap. IV.
Egyptian horses were greatly esteemed ; they were even ex-
ported to the neighbouring countries, and Solomon bought them
at a hundred and fifty shekels of silver, from the merchants who
traded with Egypt by the Syrian Desert.
It is remarkable that the camel, though known in Egypt as
early at least as the time of Abraham (being among the presents
given by Pharaoh to the Patriarch), has never been met with,
even in the latest paintings or hieroglyphics. Yet this does not
prove it was even rare in the country ; since the same would
apply to fowls and pigeons, of which no instance occurs on the
monuments among the stock of the farmyard. Cocks and hens,
however, as well as horses, appear to have come originally from
Asia.
The birds of Egypt were very numerous, especially wild fowl,
which abounded on the lakes and marsh-land of the Delta ; they
also frequented the large pieces of water on the estates of the rich
landed proprietors, in all parts of the country.
Large flights of quails afforded excellent sport at certain seasons,
and the bustard and other birds, found on the edge of the desert,
were highly prized for the table.
Many are represented by the Egyptian sculptors ; some
sacred, others that served for food ; and in the tombs of Thebes
and Beni Hassan, the Egyptians have not omitted to notice bats,
and even some of the insects that abound in the Valley of the
Nile ; and tlie well-known locust, the butterfly, and the beetle
are introduced in the fowling and fishing scenes, and in sacred
subjects. (Woodcuts 246, 249, 250, 251.)
Fowling was one of" the great amusements of all classes.
Those who followed this sport for their livelihood used nets and
traps ; but the amateur sportsman pursued his game in the
thickets, and felled them with the throw-stick, priding himself on
his dexterity in its use. The bow Avas not employed for this
purpose, nor was the sling adopted, except by gardeners and
peasants, to frighten the birds from the vineyards and fields.
The throw-stick was made of heavy wood, and flat, so as to offer
little re.-istance to the air in its flight ; and the distance to which
Chap. IV.
FOWLING EXCURSIONS.
235
.24!?- A sportsman using the throw-stick. Thebes.
Figs. 2 and 3. His sister and daughter. 4. A decoy bird. 5, 5. Birds struck with the stick.
an expert arm could throw it was considerable ; thouj^h they
always endeavoured to approach the birds as near as pos.'sible,
under cover of tlie bu.-<he.>; and reeds. It was from one foot and
a quarter to two feet in length, and about one and a half inch in
breadth, slightly curved at the upper end ; but in no instance had
it the round shape and flight of the Australian hoomeraiuj.
On their fowling excursions, they usually proceeded with a
party o^ friends and attendants, sometimes accompanied by the
members of their family, and even by their young ciiildren, to the
236
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
jungles and thickets of the marsh-lands, or to the lakes of their
own grounds, which, especially during the inundation, abounded
with wild fowl ; and seated in punts made of the papyrus, they
glided, without disturbing the birds, amidst the lofty reeds that
grew in the water, and masked their approach. This sort of
boat was either towed, pushed by a pole, or propelled by paddles,
and the Egyptians fancied that persons who used it M'ere secure
from the attacks of crocodiles.
The attendants collected the game as it fell, and one of them was
always ready to hand a fresh stick to the chasseur, as soon as he
had thrown. They frequently took with them a decoy-bird ; and
in order to keep it to its post, a female was selected, whose nest,
containing eggs, was deposited in the boat.
249, Siiortstnan using the throw-stick. British Museum
Fig. 2 keeps the boa' steady liy holding the stalks of a lotus. 4. A cat seizing the game in
'he thicket. 5. A decoy-bird.
H\,^.-0
>■ -»x~» -^
^i\V^>'j ^\'Vi\'
238
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
A favourite cat sometimes attended them on these occasions,
and performed the part of a retriever, amidst the thickets on the
bank. ( Woodcut 249, Jig. 4.)
Fishing was also a favourite pastime of the Egyptian gentleman ;
both in the Nile and in the spacious " sluices, or ponds for fish,"*
constructed within his grounds, where they were fed for the
table, and where he amused himself by angling,f and the dex-
terous use of the bident.X These favourite occupations were
not confined to young persons, nor thought unworthy of men of
serious habits ; and an Egyptian of rank, and of a certain age, is
frequently represented in the sculptures catching fish in a cajial
or lake, with the line, or spearing them as they glided past the
bank. Sometimes the angler posted himself in a shady spot by
the water's edge, and. having ordered his servants to spread a mat
upon the ground, sat upon it as he threw his line ; and some,
^?.^^
251.
An Egyptian gentleman fishing.
Thebes.
with higher notions of comfort, used a chair ; as " stout gentle-
men " now do in punts, upon retired parts of the Thames.
* Isaiah xi.x. 10.
+ Isaiali xix. 8.
X Woodcut 250, Jiy. 11.
Chap. IV. FISHING. 239
The rod was sliort, and apparently of one piece ; the line
usually single, thougii instances occur of a double line, each
Mith its own hook, wiiich was of bronze. In all cases they
adopted a ground bait, as is still the custom in Egypt, without
any float ; and though several winged insects are represented in
the paintings iiovering over the water, it does not appear that
they ever put them to the hook ; and still less that they had
devised any method similar to our artificial-fly fishiu"- ; whicii is
still as unknown to the unsophisticated modern J2gyptians as to
their fish.
To spear them with the bident was thought the most sports-
manlike way of killing fish, lu throwing it they sometimes stood
on the bank, but generally used the papyrus punt, gliding
smoothly over the water of a lake in their grounds, without dis-
turbing the fish as they lay beneath the broad leaves of the lotus.
Those who were very keen sportsmen even made parties to the
lowlands of the Delta ; as they did at other times, for shooting,
to the highlands of the desert.
The bident was a spear with two barbed points, which was
either thrust at the fish with one or both hands as they passed
by, or was darted to a short distance ; a long line fastened to it
preventing its being lost, and serving to recover it with the fish
when struck. It was occasionally furnished with feathers like an
arrow, and sometimes a conmion spear was used for the purpose ;
but in most cases it was provided \\ ith a line, the end of which
was held by the left hand, or wound upon a reel. This mode
of fishing is still adopted in many countries ; and the fish-spears
of the South Sea islanders have two, three, and four points, and
are thrown nearly in the same manner as the bident of the an-
cient Egyptians. Their attendants, or their children, assisted in
securing the fish, which, wlien taken oflT the barbed point of the
spear, were tied together by the stalk of a rush passed through
the gills. ( Woodcut 2oO,Jiy. 13.)
The chase of the hippopotanuis was a favourite anmsement of
the .sportsman ; for it then frequented Lower Egypt, though now
240
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
252.
confined to Upper Ethiopia. Like the crocodile, it was looked
upon as an enemy, from the ravages it committed at night in the
fields ; and was also killed for its hide,
of which they made shields, whips,
javelins, and helmets.
The whips, known by the name
of corbdg (corbaj), are still very ge-
nerally ui^ed in Egj'pt and Ethiopia,
in riding the dromedary, or for
chastising a delinquent peasant ; for
which purposes it was applied by the
ancient Egyptians ; and an attendant
sometimes followed the steward of
^^^^ an estate, with this implement of
Attendant carrjTng a whip, or corbaj. punishment in his hand.
The mode of attacking and securing the hippopotamus appears,
from the sculptures of Thebes, to have been veiy similar to that
now adopted about Sennar ; where, like the ancient Egyptians,
they prefer chasing it in the river, to an open attack on shore :
and the modern Ethiopians are contented to frighten it from the
corn-fields by the sound of drums and other noisy instruments.
It was entangled by a running noose, at the extremity of a
long rope wound upon a reel, at the same time that it was struck
by a spear. This weapon consisted of a broad flat blade, fur-
nished with a deep tooth, or barb, at the side ; having a strong
line of considerable length attached to its upper end, and running
over the notched summit of a wooden shaft, which was inserted
into the head, or blade, like a common javelin. It was thrown in
the same manner ; but, on striking, the shaft fell, and the iron
head alone remained in the body of the animal ; which, on re-
ceiving a wound, plunged into deep water, the line having been
immediately let out. AVhen fatigued by exertion, the hippopo-
tamus was dragged to the boat, from which it again plunged,
and the same was repeated till it became perfectly exhausted;
frequently receiving additional wounds, and being entangled by
Chap. IV.
HIPPOPOTAMUS. CROCODILE.
241
other nooses, vvliioli the attendants held in readiness, as it was
brouglit within their reach.
2SS.
Spear used in the chase of the hippopotamus.
Tltebes.
The line attached to the blade was also wound upon a reel,
generally carried by some of the attendants, which was of very
simple construction, consisting of a half ring
of metal, as a handle, and the bar turning
in it, on which the line was wound.
Neither the lrippoi)otamus nor the croco-
dile were used as food by the ancient Egyp-
tians ; but the people of Apollinopolis ate
the crocodile, upon a certain occasion, in
order to show their abhorrence of Typho,
the evil genius, of whom it was an emblem.
" They had also a solemn hunt of this animal
upon a particular day, set apart for the piir-
pose,at which time they killed as many of them
as they could, and afterwards threw their dead
bodies before the temple of their god, assigning
VOL. I,
254. A reel held by an
attend-int. Setii Hassan
this reason
R
for
242 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
their practice, that it was in the shape of a crocodile Typho
eluded the pursuit of Orus."
In some parts of Egypt it was sacred, " while in other places
they made war upon it ; and those who lived about Thebes and the
Lake Moeris (in the Arsino'ite nome) held it in great veneration."
It was there treated with the most marked respect, and kept
at a considerable expense ; it was fed and attended with the most
scrupulous care ; geese, fish, and various meats were dressed pur-
posely for it ; they ornamented its head with ear-rings, its feet
with bracelets, and its neck with necklaces of gold and artificial
stones ; it was rendered perfectly tame by kind treatment ; and
after death its body was embalmed in a most sumptuous manner.
This was particularly the case in the Theban, Ombite, and
Arsino'ite nomes ; and at a place now called Maabdeh, opposite
the modern town of Manfaloot, are extensive grottoes, cut far
into the limestone mountain, where numerous crocodile mummies
have been found, perfectly preserved, and evidently embalmed
with great care.
The people of Apollinopolis, Tentyris, Heracleopolis, and other
places, on the contrary, held the crocodile in abliorrence, and
lost no opportunity of destroying it ; and the Tentyrites were so
expert, from long habit, in catching, and even in overcoming this
powerful animal in the water, that they were known to follow it
into the Nile, and bring it by force to the shore. Pliny and
others mention the wonderful feats performed by them, not only
in their own country, but in the presence of the Roman people :
and Strabo says that on the occasion of some crocodiles being
exhibited at Rome, the Tentyrites, who were present, fully
confirmed the truth of the report of their power over those
animals ; for, having put them into a spacious tank of water,
with a shelving bank artificially constructed at one side, the men
boldly entered the water, and, entangling them in a net, dragged
them to the bank, and back again into the water ; which was
witnessed by numerous spectators.
The crocodile is in fact a timid animal, flying on the approach
of man ; and little danger need be apprehended from it, except by
CuAP. IV. THE TROCHILUS. 243
any one incautiously standing on a sloping bank of sand near the
river, when it can approach unseen. Egypt produces two varieties,
distinguished by the number and position of the scales on the
neck, and by one being black, the other of a greener colour.
They do not exceed eighteen or twenty feet, though travellers
iiave mentioned some of awful size. The story of the " trorhilus "
entering its mouth as it sleeps on tlie sandbanks, and relieving it
of the leeches in its throat, would be " remarkable, if true " that
any leeches existed in the Nile ; but the friendly offices of this
winged toothpick may have originated in the habits of the smal-1
" running bird" a species of charadrius, or dottrel, so common
there ; which, by its shrill cry on the approacii of man, warns
the crocodile (quite unintentionally) of its danger. And its
proximity to the crocodile is readily explained by its seeking the
flies and other insects, that are attracted to the sleeping beast.
255. The Trijihiius, or Charadrius melanocepDalus, Linn.
The eggs of the crocodile are remarkably small ; only three
inches long, by two in breadth (or diameter) ; being less than
those of a goose. They are equally thick at each end. They
are laid in the sand, till hatched by the warmth of the sun; and
the small crocodile, curled \\\) with its tail to its nose, awaits the
time for breaking the shell. l>ut the ichneumon is far more
dangerous to the eggs, than the trochilus is useful to their
parents ; and its destruction of the unhatched young obtained for
it great veneration in those places where the crocodile was not
held sacred.
K 2
244 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
There were various modes of catching it. One was " to fasten
a piece of pork to a hook, and throw it into the middle of the
stream, as a bait ; then, standing near the water's edge, they beat
a young pig, and the crocodile, being enticed to the spot by its
cries, found the bait on its way, and, swallowing it, was caught
by the hook. It was then pulled ashore, and its eyes being
quickly covered up with mud, it was easily overcome."
It is singular that the wild boar is never represented among
the animals of Egypt, though a native of the country, and still
frequenting the Fyoom and the Delta. It is even eaten at the
present day, in spite of the religious prejudices of fhe Moslems,
by some of the people about Damietta. Even if it never inha-
bited Upper Egypt, it ought to be figured in some of the fowling
and hunting scenes, which relate to the marsh lands of the Delta ;
and the fabled chase of it by Typho shows it was known in Egypt
at the earliest times. Nor is the wild ass met with in the paint-
ings either of Upper or Lower Egypt, though it is common in the
deserts of the Thebaid ; and other animals have already been
shown to be wanting in the sculptures. We are, therefore, more
reconciled, by these omissions, to the absence of several from the
monuments, which appear in all probability to have existed in
the country.
And here it may not be out of place to give a list of the differ-
ent animals, birds, reptiles, fish, and plants ; noticing at the
same time those that were sacred, and adding an account of the
emblems connected with the religion.
A
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256. 257. a. h. (
The name of " Egypt."
Chap. IV.
AMM.\LS OF EGYPT.
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THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
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Chap. IV. EMBLEMS. FLOWERS. 257
The most remarkable emblems, independent of the type~; of the
deities, were the signs of, 1, Life ; 2, 3, of Goodness ; 4, of Power
(or of Purity) ; 5, of Majesty and Dominion (the flail and erook
of Osiris); 6, of Authority; 7, 8, 9, 10, of Royalty; 11, of
Stability ; m hieh were principally connected with the gods and
kinsrs.
<
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3 4 5 6 7 S 9 10 II
Emblems of Life, doodness, Purity, KoyuUy, and Stability.
IMany others belonged to rclig'ious ceremonies ; a long list of
which may be seen in the chamber of Osiris at Philai, and in the
coronation ceremony at Medeenet Haboo.
The sign of Life (^tatt, or crux ansata) is held by the gods
in one hand, and the sceptre of Power (or Purity) generally
in the other. The lotus was always a favourite symbol ; the
])alm branch was the sign of "the year;" and a frog
with the young palm leaf, as it springs from the date
stone, rising from its back, wa.s the type of man in ein-
bryo. The eye of Osiris was sometimes a rej)resenta-
tion of " Egypt," {see page 244 ;) and was placed at the
head of their boats ; and numerous other emblems occur
in the sacred subjects represented on the monuments. Among
flowers, two frequently occur, the papyrus head and another ^^ ater
plant, which were the emblems of Lower and Upper Egypt.
Elowers were j)resented in difl'erent ways ; either loosely, tied
together by the stalks,* or in carefully formed bouquets, without
any other gifts. Sometimes those of a particular kind were
ottered alone ; the most esteemed being the lotus, papyrus, con-
volvulus, and other favourite productions of the garden : and
a bouquet of peculiar form was occa.sionally presented,"]" or two
smaller ones, carried in each of the donor's hands. |
* Woodcut 260. t Woodcut 260, Jig. 12. I Woodcut 2&0, Ji(j. 13.
VOL. I. S
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260. Various flowers from the sculptures. Thebes.
In fig. 8 is an attempt at perspective. Tlie upper part (a) appears to be tne papyrus ;
b IS a lotus; and c probably the melilotus. From fig. 1 «, it would seem that one
bell-fonned flower is a convolvulus; though I b, i, 6, 7, and 9 a, may be the papyrus;
and the shafts of coliunns with that kind of capital have an indication of the triangular
form of its stalk. 3. The lotus. 2, 11, 12, 13. Different bouquets. 10. A fl0"cr
from an ornamental cornice. 5. Perhaps the same as 4. Six Flowers in Chapter VI.
CiiAr. IV.
FlUrrS. OINTMENT.
2.t9
Chaplets and w leaths of flowers were also laid u])()n the altars,
and ottered to the deities, whose statues were frequently crowned
with them. In the selecfioji of them, as of herbs and roots, those
most grateful, or useful, to man. were chosen as most accept-
able to the gods ; and it was probably tlie utility, rather than the
flavour, that induced them to show a marked preference for
the onion, the Haphanus, and cucurl)itaceous plants, wiiich so
generally found a place amongst tlie offerings.
Of fruits, the sycamore, fig, and grapes were the most esteemed
for the service of the altar. They were presented on baskets or
trays, frequently covered with leaves to keep them fresh : and
sometimes tiie former were represented placed in such a manner, on
an open basket, as to resemble the liieroglyphic signifying '• ivife.''"^-
Ointment often formed part of a Inrtre donation, and always
entered into the list of those things
which constituted a complete set of
offerings. It was placed before the
deity in vases of alabaster or other
materials ; the name of the god to
whom it was vowed being frequently
engraved upon the vase tliat contain-
ed, it. Sometimes the king, or priest,
took out a certain portion to anoint
the statue of the deity, which was
done with the little finger of the
right hand.
Ointment was presented in different ways, according to the
ceremony performed in honour of the gods ; and the various
kinds of sweet-scented ointments used by the Egyptians were
lioerallv offered at every shrine. According to Clemens, the
psagdce of Egypt were among the most noted ; and Pliny and
Athenoeus both bear testimony to the varietv of Egyptian oint-
ments, as well as the importr.iice attached to tiiem ; which is
confirmed by the sculptures, and even by the vases discovered in
the tombs.
• Woodcut 284,/<7.«. 1, 2. 3, 4.
S 2
261.
260 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
Rich vestments, necklaces, bracelets, jewellery of various kinds,
and other ornaments, vases of gold, silver, and porcelain, bags of
gold, and numerous gifts of the most costly description, were
also presented to the gods. They constituted the riches of the
treasury of the temples ; and the spoils taken from conquered
nations were deposited there by a victorious monarch, as a
votive gift for the success of his anns, or as a token of grati-
tude for favours already received. Tables of the precious
metals, and rare woods, were among the offerings ; and an
accurate catalogue of his votive presents was engraved on the
walls of the temple, to commemorate the piety of the donor, and
the wealth of the sanctuary. They do not, however, properly
come under the denomination of offerings to the gods, but are
rather dedications to their temples ; and it was in presenting them
that some of the grand processions took place.
But it was not only customary to deposit the necklaces and
other " precious gifts " collectively in the temple ;
the kings frequently offered each singly to the gods,
decorating their statues with them, and placing them
on their altars.
They also presented numerous emblems, con-
nected with the vows they had made, the favours
they desired, or the thanksgivings they returned
to tlie gods : among which the most usual were a
small figure of Truth ; the symbol of the assemblies
262. "He gives (fio-. 1) • the COW of Athor (2) ; the hawk-headed
Tnith (or Justice) .I'^i -/x ii
to his father." necklace of Sokari (3) ; a cynocephalus (4); parts
of dress? (5) ; ointment (6) ; gold and silver in bags, or in rings
(7 a and b) ; three feathers, or heads of reeds, the emblem of a
field (8) ; a scribe's tablet and ink-stand (9 a and b) ; a garland
or wreath (10) ; and an emblem of pyramidal form, perhaps a
particular kind of " white " cake (11).
Thanksgivings for the birth of a child, escape from danger, or
other marks of divine favour, were offered by individuals through
the medium of the priests. The same was also done in private ;
and secret a? well as public vows were made in the hope of future
Chap. IV.
OTHER OFFERINGS.
2G1
"^"^v ,'^
rii^-^'
263.
Emblematic offerings.
favours. The quality of these oblations depended on the god
to whom presented, or the occupation of the donor ; a shepherd
262
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
264. Offerings on the Altiir. British Museum.
1, 2, 3. Vases of ointment, S:c., on stands crowned with lotus flowers.
4. Bouquets of lotus and other flowers presented by the son of the deceased.
5. Table of offerings ; the most remarkable of which are cakes, grapes, figs, fore leg
and head of a victim, two hearts, a goose, lotus flowers, and cucumbers or gourds.
6. Four vases on stands, with their mouths closed with ears of corn ; over them is a
wreath of leaves.
7. The person of the tomb seated.
Chap. IV
SACRIFICE OF ANIMALS.
2(53
!
265. Stands for bearing offerings.
bringing from his flocks, a liushandinan f'loni his fields, and- others
according to their means; provided the offering ua.s not foi-
l)idden by the rites of'tiie deity.
Though the Egyptians considered
certain oblations suited to particular
gods, others inadmissible to their tem-
ples, and some more peculiarly adapted
to prescribed periods of the year, the
greater part of the deities were in-
voked with tlie same offerings ; the
most usual of which were fruit, flowers,
vegetables, ointment, incense, grain,
wine, milk, beer, oil, cakes, and the
sacrifice of animals and birds. These
last were either offered whole, with the
feathers, or plucked and trussed ; and
when presented alone, they were some-
times placed upon a portable stand, furnished with spikes, over
which the bird was laid.
The bronze instruments with long curved spikes, found in the
Etruscan tombs, were probably intended for a similar purj)ose ;
though they were once thought to be for torturing Christian
martyrs.
Even oxen and other animals were sometimes offered entire,
though generally after the head had been taken off"; and it does
not appear that this depended on any particular ceremony.
In slaying a victim, the Egyptians suffered tlie blood to flow upon
the ground, or over the altar, if placed upon it ; and the mode of
cutting it up appears to have been the same as when killed for
the table. The head was first taken off"; and, after the skin had
been removed, they generally cut otf tiie right leg and shoulder,
and the other legs and parts in succession ; wjiicli. if required for
the table, were placed on trays, and carried to the kitchen, or if
intended for sacrifice, were deposited on the altar, with fiuit,
takes, and other off'erin<>:s.
The joints, and parts, most readily distinguished in tlie sculp-
264
THE AI^CIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
tures, are the liead, the fore leg (fig-. 1), with the shoulder (Avhich
was styled scqit, " the chosen part ;") the upper joint of the hind
266.
Different joints placed un the altars ur the tables.
TJiebes
leg (2), the kidneys (4), the ribs (5 and 8), the heart (3), and
the rump (6) ; and those most commonly seen on the altars are
the head, the leg, and tlie ribs. AVhen the Egyptians offered
a holocaust, they commenced with a libation of wine, a preli-
minary ceremony common, according to Herodotus, to all their
sacrifices ; and, after it liad been poured upon the altar, the
victim was slain. They first removed the head and skin (a
statement, as I have already shown, fully confirmed by the sculp-
tures) ; they then took out the stomach, leaving only the entrails
and the fat ; after m hich the thighs, the upper part of the
haunches, the shoulders, and the neck, were cut off in succession.
Then, filling the body with cakes of pure flour, honey, dried
raisins, figs, incense, myrrh, and other odoriferous substances,
they burnt it on the fire, pouring over it a considerable quantity
of oil. The portions which were not consumed were afterwards
given to the votaries, wlio were present on the occasion, no part
of- the offering being left; audit was during the ceremony of
burning the sacrifice at the fete of Isis, that they beat themselves
in honour of Osiris.
The ordinary subjects, in the interior of the temples, represent
the king presenting offerings to the deities worshipped there ;
the most remarkable of which are the sacrifices already men-
tioned, incense, libation, and several emblematic figures or de-
vices connected with religion. He sometimes made an appro-
priate offering to the presiding deity of the sanctuary, and to
i
Cn.vr. IV
INCENSE.
265
each of the coiitemplar gods, as Diodonis says Osymandyas was
represented to have done ; the memorial of which act of piety
was preserved in the sculptures of his tomb.
Incense was presented to all the gods, and introduced on every
<>-rand occasion when a complete oblation was made. For they
sometimes merely offered a libation of wine, oil, and otiier liquids,
or a siin::le gift, a necklace, a bouquet of tlowers, or whatever
tliey had vowed. Incense was also presented alone, though more
usually accompanied by a libation of wine. It consisted of
various ingredients, according to circumstances ; and in offerings
to the sun, Plutarch says that resin, myrrh, and a mixture of
sixteen ingredients, called knplii, were adapted to different times
of tiie day.
In offering incense, the king held in one hand the censer, and
with the other threw balls or pastiles of incense into the flame.
267.
OfTering ot incense.
Then, addressing the God, before whose statue he stood, with a
suitable prayer, to invoke his aid and favour, he begged him to
accept the incense he presented : in return for which the deity
granted him " a long, pure, and liappy life," with other flwours
accorded by tiie gods to men.
A libation of wine was frequently offered, togetiier with in-
cense ; or two censers of incense, witii several
oxen, birds, and other consecrated gifts. And
that it was customary to present several of
the same kind is shown by the ordinary
formula of presentation, which says, " I give
you a thousand (/.f'. many) cakes, a thousand ,es. on., ing of im^n-e
vases of wine, a thousand head of oxen, a ami a iibaiicn.
tliousand geese, a tliousaiid vestments, a thousand censers of
266 THE AKC1E^"T EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
incense, a thousand libations, a thousand boxes of ointment."
The cakes were of various kinds. Many were round, oval, or
triang-ular ; and others had the edges folded over, like the
ffdeereh of the present day. They also assumed the shape of
leaves, or the form of an animal, a crocodile's head, or some
capricious figure ; and it was frequently customary to sprinkle
them (particularly the round and oval cakes) with seeds.
A\'ine was presented in two cups. It was not then a libation,
but merely an ofl'ering of wine ; and since the pouring out of wine
upon the altar Mas a preliminary ceremony, as Herodotus ob-
serves, common to all their sacrifices, we find that the king is
often represented making a libation upon an altar covered with
ofi'erings of cakes, flowers, and the joints of a victim killed for the
occasion.
*^ If \ /
111 /\ 1 \ 'o
269. AN'ine HPn offpred in two cups. 270. Vases used for libations.
Two kinds of vases were principally used for libations ; but
that used on grand occasions, and carried in procession by the
Prophet, or by the king, was of long shape, with the usual spout
The various kinds of wine were indicated by the names af-
fixed to them. White and red wines, those of the Upper and
Lower Country, grape juice or wine of the vineyard (one of the
most delicious beverages of a hot climate,
and one which is connnonly used in Spain
and other countries at the present day),
were the most noted.
of m?ik^ epco ] • Beer and milk, as well as oils of various
CllAP. IV
PROCESSION OF SHRINES.
2(
> (
kinds, for w Iiich Egypt was famous, were also common among tlie
oHerings.
No people liad greater delight in ceremonies and religious
pomp than the Egyptians; and grand processions constantly
took place, to commemorate some legendary tale connected
witli superstition. Nor was this tendency of the Egyptian
mind neglected by tlie priesthood ; whose influence was greatly
increased by the importance of the post they held on those
occasions : there was no ceremony in which they did not par-
ticipate ; and even military regulations were subject to their
influence.
One of the most important ceremonies was " the procession of
271a.
Sliriae, or ark.
Thehei.
shrines," which is mentioned in the Rosetta Stone, and is fre-
quently represented on the walls of the temples. The shrines
268 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
were of two kinds : the one a sort of canopy ; the other an ark or
sacred boat, which may be termed the great shrine. This was
earned with grand pomp by the priests, a certain number beino-
selected for that duty, who, supporting it on their shoulders by
means of long staves, passing through metal rings at the side of
the sledge on which it stood, brought it into the temple, where
it was placed upon a stand or table, in order that the prescribed
ceremonies might be performed before it.
The stand was also carried in the procession by another set of
priests, followi]ig the shiine, by means of similar staves ; a
method usually adopted for transporting large statues, and sacred
emblems, too heavy or too important to be borne by one person.
The same is stated to have been the custom of the Jews in some
of their religious processions, as in carrying the ark " to its
place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place," ^^ hen
the temple was built by Solomon.
The number of shrines in these processions, and the splendour
of the ceremony performed on the occasion, depended on the
particular festival they intended to commemorate. In many
instances the shrine of the deity of the temple was carried alone,
sometimes that of other deities accompanied it, and sometimes that
of the king was added ; a privilege granted as a peculiar mark of
esteem, for some great benefit conferred by him upon his country,
or for his piety in having beautified the temples of the gods. Such
is the motive mentioned in the description of the Rosetta Stone ;
which, after enumeratmg the benefits conferred upon the country
by Ptolemy, decrees, as a return for them, " that a statue of the
king shall be erected in every temple, in the most conspicuous
place ; that it shall be called the statue of Ptolemy, the defender
of Egypt ; and that near it shall be placed the presiding deity,
presenting to him the shield of victory. Moreover, that the
priests shall minister three times every day to the statues, and
prepare for them the sacred dress, and perform the accustomed
ceremonies, as in lionour of other gods at feasts and festivals.
That there shall be erected an image, and golden shrine, of King
Ptolemy, in the most honourable of the temples, to be set up in
CiiAP. IV. PRIESTS BORE THE SHRINE. 2G9
the sanotiian,' amonu: the other shrines; ai)cl that on the <j;reat
festivals, when tlie prncrssio/i of .i/iri/ics takes place, that of the
god E[)ii)lianes sliall accompany them ; ten royal golden crowns
being deposited upon the slirine. with an asp attached to each;
and the (double) crown Pshent, which he wore at his coronation,
placed in the midst." {See the Pshent, in Woodcut 258,
Jig. 10.)
It was also usual to carry this statue of the principal Deity,
in \\ liose honour the procession took place, together with that of
tlie king, and the figures of his ancestors, borne in the same
manner on men's shoulders ; like the Gods of Babylon mentioned
by Jeremiah.
Diodorus speaks of an Ethiopian festival of Jupiter, when his
statue was carried in procession, probably to coiumemorate the
supposed refuge of- the gods in that countrj' ; which may have
been a memorial of tlie flight of the Egyptians with their gods,
at the time of the Shepherd invasion, mentioned by Josephus on
the authority of Manetho. Diodorus also says, " Homer derived
from Egypt his story of the embraces of Jupiter and Juno, and
tlieir travelling into Ethiopia, because the Egyptians every year
carry Jupiter's shrine over the river into Africa, and a few days
affer bring it back again, as if the gods had returned out of
Ethiopia. The fiction of their nuptials wa-s taken from the
solemnization of these festivals ; at which time botli their shrines,
adorned with all sorts of flowers, are carried by the priests to the
top of a mountain."
The usual number of priests, who performed the duty of
bearers, was generally twelve or sixteen, to each shrine. They
were accompanied by another of a superior grade, distinguished
bv a lock of liair pendent on one side of his head, and chid in a
leopard skin, the peculiar badge of his rank, who, walking near
them, gave directions respecting the procession, its position in
tlie temple, and whatever else was required during the ceremony ;
wiiich agrees well with the remark of Herodotus, that '' each
deity had many priests, and one high jiriest." Sometimes two
priests of the same peculiar grade attended, bnth during the
270
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. IV.
procession, and after the shrine had been deposited in the temple.
These were the Pontiffs, or highest order of priests : they had
the title of •• Sem," and enjoyed the privilege of offering sacri-
fices on all grand occasions.
When the shrine reached the temple, it was received with
every demonstration of respect by the officiating priest, who was
appointed to do duty upon the day of the festival ; and if the
king liappened to be there, it was his privilege to perform the
appointed ceremonies. These consisted of sacrifices and prayers ;
and the shrine was decked w ith fresh-gathered flowers and rich
garlands. An endless profusion of oflferings was placed before
it, on several separate altars ; and the king, frequently accom-
panied by his queen, who held a sistrum in one hand, and in the
other a bouquet of flowers made up into the particular form re-
quired for these religious ceremonies, presented incense and
libation. This part of the ceremony being finished, the king
proceeded to the presence of tlie god (represented by his statue),
from whom he was supposed to receive a blessing, typified by the
sacred tau, the sign of Life. Sometimes the principal contem
plar deity was also present, usually the second member of the
triad of the place ; and it is probable that the position of the
272. One of the sacrod boats or arks, with two figures resembUnK Cherubim a a;id
6 represent the king ; the former under the shape of a sphinx.
ClIAP. IV.
ARKS. DEDICATION.
271
Statue was near to the shrine, alluded to in the inscription of the
Rosetta Stone.
Some of the sacred boats, or arks, contained the emblems of
life and stability, which, wiien the veil was drawn aside, were
partially seen ; others, the figure of the Divine Spirit, Jsef, or
Nou ; and some presented the sacred beetle of tlie sun, oversha-
dowed by the wings of two figures of the goddess Thmei or Truth,
which call to mind the cherubim of the Jews. ( Woodcut 272.)
272 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
The dedication of the whole or part of a temple was, as may
be reasonably supposed, one of the most remarkable solemnities,
at which the king presided. And if the actual celebration' of
the rites practised on the occasion, the laying of the foundation
stone, or other ceremonies connected with it, are not represented
on the monuments, tiie importance attached to it is shown by the
conspicuous manner in which it is recorded in the sculptures, the
ostentation with whicli it is announced in the dedicatory inscrip-
tions of tlie monuments themselves, and the answer returned by
the god in whose honour it was erected.
Another striking ceremony was the tiansport of the dedicatory
offerings made by the king to the gods, which were carried in
great pomp to their respective temples. The king and all the
priests attended the procession, clad in their robes of ceremony :
and the flag-staffs attached to tlie great towers of the facade were
decked, as on other grand festivals, with banners.
The coronation of the king was a peculiarly imposing cere-
mony. It was one of the principal subjects represented in the
court of the temples ; and some idea may be formed of the pomp
displayed on the occasion, even from the limited scale on which
the monuments are capable of describing it. It is thus repre-
sented at Medeenet Haboo.
First comes the king, borne in his shrine^or canopy, and seated on
a throne, ornamented with the figures of a lion and a sphinx, which
is preceded by a hawk. Behind him stand two figures of Truth
and Justice, with outspread wings. 'J'welve Egyptian princes,
his sons, bear the slirine ; officers wave Habella around the mon-
arch ; and others, of the sacerdotal order, attend on either side,
carrying his arms and insignia. Four others follow ; then six
of the king's sons, behind whom are two scribes and eight
attendants of the military class, bearing stools and the steps of
the throne.
In another line are members of the sacerdotal order, four others
of the king's sons, fan-bearers, and military scribes ; a guard of
soldiers bringing up the rear of the procession. Before the
shrine, in one line, march six officers bearing sceptres and other
Chap. IV. CORONATION OF THE KING. 273
insignia ; in another a scribe reads aloud the contents of a scroll
he holds unfolded in his hand, preceded bj- two of the king's
sons, and two distinguished persons of the military and priestly
orders. The rear of both these lines is closed by a pontiff, who,
*urning round towards the shrine, burns incense before the mon-
arch ; and a band of music, composed of the trumpet, drum,
double-pipe, and other instruments, with choristers, forms the van
of the procession.
The king, alighted from his throne, officiates as priest before
the statue of Anmn-Khem, or Amun-Re generator ; and, still
wearing his helmet, he presents libations and incense before the
altar, w hich is loaded with flowers, and other suitable offerings.
The statue of the god, attended by officers bearing fiabella, is
carried on a palanquin, covered with rich drapery, by twenty-
two priests ; behind it follow others, bringing the table and the
altar of the deity. Before the statue is the sacred bull, followed
by the king on foot, wearing the cjip of the " Lower country."
Apart from the pnjcession itself stands the queen, as a spectator
of the ceremony ; and before her, a scribe reads a scroll he has
unfolded. A priest turns round to offer incense to the white
bull ; and another, clapping his hands, brings up the rear of a
long procession of hitraphori, carrying standards, images, and
other sacred emblems > and the foremost bear tlie statue of the
king's ancestors.
This part of the picture refers to the coronation of the king,
who, in the hieroglyphics, is said to have " put on the crown of
the Upper and Lower countries ;" which the birds, flying to the
four sides of the world, are to announce to the gods of the south,
north, east, and west.
Li the next compartment, the president of the assembly reads
a long invocation, the contents of which are contained in the
hieroglyphic inscription above ; and the six ears of corn wliich
the king, once more wearing his helmet, has cut with e golden
sickle, are held out by a priest towards the deity. The white
bull and images of the kind's ancestors are deposited in his
temple, in the presence of Amun-Khem, the queen still witness-
VOL. I. T
274 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
ing the ceremony, which is concluded by an offering of incense
and libation, made by Remeses to the statue of the god.
Clemens gives an account of an Egyptian procession ; which,
as it throws some light on similar ceremonies, and is of interest
from having some points of resemblance with the one before us,
I here transcribe.
" In the solemn pomps of Egypt the singer generally goes
first, bearing one of the symbols of music. They say it is his
duty to carry two of the books of Hermes ; one of which contains
hymns of the gods, the other precepts relating to the life of the
king. The singer is followed by the Horoscopus, bearing in his
liand the measure of time (hour-glass) and the palm (branch),
the symbols of astrology (astronomy), whose duty it is to be
versed in (or recite) the four books of Hermes, which treat of
that science. Of these, one describes the position of the fixed
stars, another the conjunctions (eclipses) and illuminations of the
sun and moon, and the others their risings. Next comes the
Hierog-rammat (or sacred scribe), having feathers on his head,
and in his hands a book (papyrus), with a ruler (palette) in which
is ink, and a reed for writing. It is his duty to understand M'hat
are called hieroglyphics, the description of the world, geography,
the course of th^ sun, moon, and planets, the condition of the
land of Egypt and the Nile, the nature»of tiie instruments or
sacred ornaments, and the places appointed for them, as well as
weights and measures, and the things used in holy rites. Then
follows the Stolistes, or * dresser,' bearing the cubit of justice
and the cup of libation. He knows all subjects relating to edu-
cation, and the choice of calves for victims, wJiich are compre-
hended in ten books. These ti'eat of the honours paid to the
gods, and of the Egyptian religion, including sacrifice, first fruits,
hymns, prayers, processions, holydays, and the like. Last of all
conies the proi)het, who carries in his bosom a water jar, followed
by persoMs bearing loaves of bread. He presides over all sacred
things, and is obliged to know the contents of the ten books
called sacerdotal, relating to the gods, the laws, and all the dis-
cipline of the priests."
Chap. IV. OTHER CEREMONIES. 275
One of the principal solemnities connected with the coronation
was the anointing- of the king, and his receiving the emblems of
majesty from the gods. The sculptures represent the deities
themselves officiating on this as on other similar occasions, in
order to convey to the Egyptian people, who beheld these re-
cords, a more exalted notion of the special favours bestowed on
their monarch.
We, however, who at this distant period are less interested in
tiie direct intercourse between the Pharaohs and the gods, may
be satisfied with a more simple interpretation of such subjects,
and conclude tliat it was the priests who performed the cere-
mony, and bestowed upon the prince the title of " the anointed of
the gods."
"With the Egyptians, as with the Jews, the investiture to any
sacred office, as that of king or priest, was confirmed by this ex-
ternal sign ; and as the Jewish lawgiver mentions the ceremony
of pouring oil upon the head of the high priest after he had put
on his entire dress, with the mitre and crown, the Egyptians re-
present the anointing of their priests and kings after they were
attu'ed in their full robes, with the cap and crown upon their
head. Some of the sculptures introduce a priest pouring oil over
the monarch, in the presence of Thoth, Hor-Ilat, Seth, and Nilus ;
which may be considered a representation of the ceremony, before
the statues of those gods. Tlie functionary who officiated was
the high priest, or prophet, clad in a leopard skin ; the same who
attended on all occasions which required him to assist, or assume
the duties of, the monarch in the temple.
There was also the ceremony of anointing the statues of tiie
gods, which was done witli the little finger of the riglit hand ;
and another, of pouring from two vases, alternate emblems of
life and purity, over the king, in token of purification, previous
to his admittance into the presence of the god of the temple.
This was performed by Thotii on one side, and the liawk-lieaded
Hor-IIat on the otiier ; sometimes Ijy llor-IIat and Seth, or by
two hawk-headed deities, or by one of these last and the god
Nilus. Tlie deities Seth and Horus are also represented placing
T 2
276 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
the crown of the two countries upon the head of the king, saying
" Put this cap upon your head like your father Amun-Re :" and
the pahn branches they hold in their hands allude to the long
series of years they gi-ant him to rule over his country. The
emblems of Dominion and Majesty, the crook and flagellum of
Osiris, have been already given him, and the asp-formed fillet is
bound upon his head.
Another mode of investing the sovereign with the diadem is
figured on the apex of some obelisks, and on other monuments,
where the god, in whose honour they were raised, puts the crown
upon his head as he kneels before him, with
the announcement that he " grants him do-
minion over the whole world." Goddesses,
in like manner, placed upon the heads of
queens the peculiar insignia they wore ; which
were two long feathers, with the globe and
horns of Athor ; and they presented them
274. Sceptre of a Queen. ^^^.^^ peculiar SCeptre.
The custom of anointing was not confined to the appointment
of kings and priests to the sacred offices they held : it was the
ordinary token of welcome to guests in every party at the house
of a friend ; and in Egypt, no less than in Judaea, the metapho-
rical expression, " anointed with the oil of gladness," was fully
understood, and applied to the ordinary occurrences of life. It
was not confined to the living ; the dead were made to participate
in it, as if sensible of the tokeji of esteem thus bestowed upon
them ; and a grateful survivor, in giving an affectionate token of
gratitude to a regretted friend, neglected not this last unction of
his mortal remains. Even the head of the bandaged mummy,
and the case which contained it, were anointed with oils and the
most precious ointments.
Another ceremony, represented in the temples, was the blessing
bestowed by the gods on the king, at the moment of his assuming
the reins of government. They laid their hands upon him ;
and, presenting him with the symbol of life, they promised that
his reign should be long and glorious, and that he should enjoy
Chat. IV.
Tilt KING bli:ssi:d
B^
THE GODS.
277
tranquillity, with certain victory over his enemies. If about to
undertake an expedition against foreign nations, they gave him
the falchion of victoiy, to secure the defeat of tiie people whose
country he was about to invade, saying, " Take this weapon, and
smite with it the heads of the impure Gentiles,"
To show the special favour he enjoyed from heaven, the gods
were even represented admitting him into their company and
comnuniiiig with him ; and sometimes Tlioth, with otlier deities,
taking iiim by the hand, led him into the presence of the great
Triad, or of the presiding divinity, of the temple. He was wel-
comed with suitable expressions of approbation ; and on this, as
on other occasions, the sacred tan, or sign of life, was presented
to him, — a symbol which, with the sceptre of purity, was usually
placed in the hands of the gods. These two were deemed the
greatest gifts bestowed by the deity on man.
The origin of the tau I cannot pre-
cisely determine ; but this curious fact
is connected with it in later times, — that
the early Christians of Egypt adopted it
in lieu of the cross, which was afterwards
substituted for it, prefixing it to inscrip-
tions in the same manner as the cross in
later times ; and numerous inscriptions
headed by the tau are preserved to the
present day in early Cliristian sepulchres i
at the Great Oasis. 275. Tau, or Sign of Life.
The triumph of the king was a grand solemnity. Flattering
to the national pride of tlie Egyptians, it awakened those feelings
of enthusiasm which the celebration of victory naturally inspires,
and led them to commemorate it with tiie greatest pomp. When
the victorious monarch, returning to Egypt after a glorious cam-
paign, approached tlie cities which lay on his way, from the
confineji. of the country to the capital, tlie inhabitants tiocked to
meet him, and with welcome acclamations greeted his arri\al
and the success of his arms. The priests and chief people of
each place advanced with garlands and bouquets of flowers ; the
278 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IY.
principal person present addressed him in an appropriate speech ;
and as the troops defiled through the streets, or passed without
the walls, the people followed with acclamations, uttering earnest
thanksgivings to the gods, the protectors of Egypt, and praying
them for ever to contmue the same marks of favour to their
monarch and their nation.
Arrived at the capital, they went immediately to the temple,
where they returned thanks to the gods, and performed the cus-
tomary sacrifices on this important occasion. The whole anny
attended, and the order of march continued the same as on enter-
ing the city. A corps of Egyptians, consisting of chariots and
infantry, led the van in close column, followed by the allies of
the different nations, who had shared the dangers of the field
and the honour of victory. In the centre marched the body
guards, the king's sons, the military scribes, the royal arm-
bearers, and the staft' corps, in the midst of whom was the monarch
himself, mounted in a splendid car, attended by his fan-bearers on
foot, bearing over him the state flabella. Next followed other
regiments of infantry, with their respective banners ; and the rear
was closed by a body of chariots. The prisoners, tied together
with ropes, were conducted by some of the king's sons, or by the
chief officers of the staff, at the side of the royal car. The king
himself frequently held the cord which bound them, as he drove
slowly in the procession ; and two or more chiefs were sometimes
suspended beneath the axle of his chariot, contrary to the usual
humane principles of the Egyptians, who seem to have refrained
from unnecessary cruelty to their captives, extending this feeling
so far as to rescue, even in the heat of battle, a defenceless enemy
from a watery grave.
Having reached the precincts of the temple, the guards and
royal attendants selected to be the representatives of the whole
army entered the courts, the rest of the troops, too numerous for
admission, being drawn up before the entrance ; and the king,
alighting from his car, prepared to lead his captives to the shrine
of the god. IMilitary bands jjlayed the favourite airs of the
country ; and the numerous standards of the different regiments,
Chap. IV. THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY. 279
the banners floating in the wind, the bright lustre of arms, tlie
innnense concourse of people, and tiie grandeur of tlie lofty towers
of the teni|)le, decked with their bright-coloured flags stream-
ing above tlie cornice, presented an imposing scene. But the
most striking feature of this pompous ceremony was the brilliant
cortege of the monarch, who was either borne in his chair of
state by the principal officers of state under a rich canopy, or
walked on foot, overshadowed with rich flabella and fans of
waving plumes As he approached the inner gateway, a long
procession of priests advanced to meet him, dressed in their robes
of office ; censers full of incense were burnt before him ; and
a sacred scribe read from a papyrus roll the glorious deeds of the
victorious monarch, and the tokens he had received of the divine
favour. They then accompanied him into the presence of the
presiding deity of the place ; and having performed sacrifice,
and offered suitable thanksgivings, he dedicated the spoil of
the conquered enemy, and expressed his gratitude for the pri-
vilege of laying before the feet of the god, the giver of victory,
those prisoners he had brought to the vestibule of the divine
abode.
In the mean time, the troops without the sacred precincts were
summoned by sound of trumpet, to attend the sacrifice prepared
by the priests, in the name of the whole army, for the benefits
they liad received from the gods, the success of their arms, and
their own preserv'ation in the hour of danger. p]ach regiment
marched up by turn to the altar, temporarily raised for the occa-
sion, to the sound of the drum, the soldiers carrying in their hand
a twig of olive, with the arms of their respective corps; but I he
heavy-armed soldier laid aside his shield on this occasion, as if
to show the security he enjoyed in the presence of the deity. An
ox was then killed ; and wine, incense, and the customary offer-
ings of cakes, fruit, vegetables, joints of meat, and birds,
were presented to the god. Every soldier deposite<l the twig
of olive he carried at the altar ; and as the trmnpet sum-
moned them, so also it gave the signal for each regiment ro
withdraw, and cede its place to another. The ceremony being
280 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
over, the king went in state to his palace, accompanied by the
troops ; and having distributed rewards to them, and eulogised
their conduct in the field, he gave Jiis orders to the commanders
of the difl^erent corps, and they withdrew to their cantonments, or
to the duties to which they were appointed.
Of the fixed festivals, one of the most remarkable was the cele-
bration of the grand assemblies, or panegyrics, held in the great
halls of the principal temples, at which the king presided in
person. That they were of the greatest importance is abundantly
proved by the frequent mention of them in the sculptures ; and
that the post of president of the assemblies was the highest pos-
sible honour may be inferred, as well from its being enjoyed by
the sovereign alone of all men, as from its being assigned to tlie
deity him.self in these legends : " Phrah
(Pharaoh), lord of the panegyrics, like
Re," or " like his father Pthah ;" which
I ~g I so frequently occur on the monuments of
Thebes and Memphis.
Their celebration was fixed to certain
periods of the year ; as were the festivals
of the new moons, and those recorded in
the great calendar, sculptured on the ex-
g terior of the S. W. wall of ]\Iedeenet Ha-
4^ j( boo, which took place during several suc-
276. cessive days of each month, and were even
repeated in honour of different deities every day during some
months, and attended .by the king in person.
Another important religious ceremony is often alluded to in
the sculptures, which appears to be connected with the assemblies
just mentioned. In this the king is represented nuining, with a
vase or some emblem in one hand, and the flagellum of Osiris, a
type of majesty, in the other, as if hastening to enter the hall
where the panegyrics were lield ; and two figures of him are
frequently introduced, one crowned with the cap of the Upper,
the other with that of the Lower country, as they stand beneath
a canopy indicative of the hall of assembly. The same deities,
CuAP. IV. THE KING'S BIllTII-DAY. 281
who usually preside on the anointing of tlie king, present him
with the sign of life, and bear before him tiie palm branch, on
which tlie years of the assemblies are noted. Before him stands
the goddess Milt, bearing on her head the water-plants, her
emblem ; and around are numerous emblems appropriated to this
subject. The monarch sometimes runs into the presence of the
god bearing two vases, which apjiears to be tlie commencement
of, or connected with, this ceremony ; and tlie wiiole may be the
anniversary of the foundation of the temple, or of the sovereign's
reign. An ox (or cow) is in some instances represented running
witii tiie king, on the same occasion.
The birthdays of the kings were celebrated with great pomp.
Tiiey were looked upon as iioly ; no business was done upon
them ; and all classes indulged in the festivities suitable to the
occasion. Every Egyptian attached much importance to the
day, and even to tiie hour of his birth ; and it is probable that,
a.s in I'ersia, each individual kept iiis birthday with great rejoic-
ings, welcoming his friends with all the amusements of society,
and a more than usual profusion of the delicacies of the table.
They had many other public holydays, when the court of the
king and all public offices were closed. Tliis was sometimes
owing to a superstitious belief of their being unlucky ; and such
was the prejudice against the '• tiiiid day of tiie Epact, the birth-
day of Typho, that the sovereign neither transacted any business
upon it, nor even suffered himself to take any refreshment till the
evening." Other fasts were also observed by the king and the
priestiiood, out of respect to certain solemn purifications they
deemed it their duty to undergo for the service of religion.
Among the ordinary rites the most noted, because tiie most
frequent, were the daily sacrifices offered in the temple by the
sovereign pontiff. It was customary for iiim to attend there early
every morning, after he had examined and settled his epistolary
correspondence relative to the affairs of state; and tlie service
Iiegaii by the high priest reading a prayer for the welfare of the
monarch, in the presence of the people.
Of the anniversary festivals one of the most remarkable was
282 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
the Niloa, or invocation of tlie blessings of the inundation, offered
to the tutelary deity of the Kile. According to Heliodorus, it
was one of the principal festivals of the Egyptians. It took
place about the summer solstice, when the river began to rise ;
and the anxiety with which they looked forward to a plentiful
inundation induced them to celebrate it with more than usual
honour. Libanius asserts that these rites were deemed of so
much importance by the Egyptians, that unless they were per-
formed at the proper season, and in a becoming manner, by tlie
persons appointed to this duty, they felt persuaded that the !NUe
would refuse to rise and inundate the land. Their full belief in
the efficacy of the ceremony, secured its annual performance on a
grand scale. Men and women assembled from all parts of the
country in the towns of their respective nomes, grand festivities
were proclaimed, and all the enjoyments of the table were united
with the solemnity of a holy festival. Music, the dance, and ap-
propriate hymns, marked the respect they felt for the deity ;
and a wooden statue of the river god was carried by the priests
through the villages in solemn procession, that all might appear
to be honoured by his presence, while invoking the blessings
he was about to confer.
Another festival, particularly welcomed by the Egyptian pea-
sants, and looked upon as a day of great rejoicing, was (if it may
be so called) the harvest home, or the close of the labours of the
year, and the preparation of the land for its future crops by the
inundation ; when, as Diodorus tells us, the husbandmen indulged
iti recreations of every kmd, and showed their gratitude for the
benefits the deity had conferred upon them by the blessings of
the inundation. This, and other festivals of the peasantry, I
shall notice in treating of the agriculture of Egypt.*
Games were also t-elebrated in honour of certain gods, in
which wrestling and other gymnastic exercises were practised.
The investiture of a chief was a ceremony of considerable import-
ance, when the post conferred was connected with any high dignity
* In chap. vi.
Chap. IV. INVESTITURE TO OFFICE. 283
about the person of the monarch, in the army, or the priesthood.
It took phice in the jiresence of the sovereicfn seated t)n his
throne ; and two priet^ts, iiaving arrayed the candidate in a long
loose vesture, placed necklaces round his neck. One of these
ceremonies frequently occurs in the monuments, which was some-
times perfonned immediately after a victory ; in which case we
niav conclude that the honour was granted in return for distin-
guished services in the field : and as the individual, on all occa-
sions, holds the flabella, crook, and other insignia of the office
of fan-bearer, it appears to have been either the appointment to
that post, or to some iiigh command in the army.
xV similar mode of investiture appears to have been adopted
in all appointments to the high offices of state, both of a civil and
military kind. In this, as in many customs detailed in the
sculptures, we find an interesting illustration of a ceremony
mentioned in the Bible, which describes Piiaraoh taking a ring
from his hand and putting it on Joseph's hand, arraying him in
vestures of fine linen, and putting a gold chain about his neck.
In a tomb, opened at Thebes by ]Mr. Hoskins, another instance
occurs of this investiture to the post of fan-bearer ; in which the
two attendants, or inferior priests, are engaged in clothing him
with the robes of his new office. One puts on the necklace,
the other arranges his dress, a fillet beinfir alreadv bound round
his head ; and he appears to wear gloves upon his uplifted hands.
In the next part of tlie same picture (for, as is often the case, it
presents two actions and two periods of time) tiie individual
holding the insignia of fan-bearer, and followed by tlie two
priests, presents himself before the king, who holds forth his
hand to him to touch, or perhaps to kiss.
The office of fan-bearer to the king was a highly honourable
post, wliich none but the royal princes, or tlie sons of the first
nobility, were permitted to hold. These constituted a principal
part of his staff; and in the field they either attended on the
monarch to receive his orders, or were despatched to take the
command of a division ; some having the rank of generals of
cavaliy, others of heavy infantry or archers, according to the
284 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
service to which they belonged. They had the privilege of
presenting the prisoners to the king, after the victory had been
gained, announcing at the same time the amount of the enemy's
slain, and the booty that had been taken ; and those, whose turn
it was to attend upon the king's person, as soon as the enemy had
been vanquished, resigned their command to the next in rank,
and returned to their post of fan-bearers. The office was divided
into two grades, — the one serving on the right, the other on tlie
left, hand of the king ; the most honourable post being given to
those of the highest rank, or to those most esteemed for their
services. A certain number were always on duty ; and they were
required to attend during the grand solemnities of the temple,
and on every occasion when the monarch went out in state, or
transacted public business at home.
At Medeenet Haboo is a remarkable instance of the ceremony
of carrying the sacred boat of Ptiiah-Sokari-Osiris, which may
represent the funeral of Osiris. It is frequently introduced in
the sculptures ; and in one of the tombs of Thebes this solemnity
occurs, which, though on a smaller scale than on the walls of
Medeenet Haboo. offers some interesting peculiarities. First
comes the boat, carried as usual by several priests, superintended
by the pontiff, clad in a leopard skin ; after which two hieraphori,
each bearing a long staff, surmounted by a hawk ; then a man
beating the tambourine, behind whom is a flower with the stalk
bound round with ivy (or the periploca, which so much resembles
it). These are followed by two hieraphori (or bearers of holy
emblems), carrying each a staff with a jackal on the top, and
another carrying a flower ; behind whom is a priest turning
round to offer incense to the emblem of Nofre-Atmoo. The
latter is placed horizontally upon six columns, between each of
which stands a human figure, with uplifted arms, either in the
act of adoration, or aiding to support the sacred emblem ; and
behind it is an image of the king kneeling ; tlie whole borne on
the usual staves by several priests, attended by a pontiff in his
leopard-skin dress. In this ceremony, as in some of the tales
related of Osiris, we may trace those analogies whicli led the
CuAP. IV. ARK OF SOKAKl. 2«5
Greeks to suggest the roseiiil)laiice between tliat deity, and
tlieir Bacolius ; as tlie tambourine, tlie ivy-bound fiower or
tliyrsus, and the leopard skin, whieli hist recalls the leopards that
drew his car. The spotted skin of the nebris, or fawn, may
also be traced in that suspended near Osiris in tliL; region of
Anient i.
At Medeenet llaboo tiie procession is on a more splendid
scale : the ark of Sokari is borne by sixteen priests, acconij)anied
1)V two pohtifts, one clad in the usual leopard skin ; and Renieses
himself officiates on the occasion. The king also performs the
siniiular ceremony of holding a ropo at its centre, the two ends
being supported by four priests, eight of his sons, and four other
chiefs ; before whom two priests turn round to offer incense,
while a sacred scribe reads the contents of a papyrus he holds in
liis hands. These are preceded by one of the hieraphori bearing
tlie hawk on a .>.taff" decked with banners (the standard of the
king, or of Ilorus), and by the emblem of 2s'ofre-Atmoo, borne
by eighteen priests, the figures standing between the columns,
over which it is laid, being of kings, and the columns themselves
being surmounted by the heads of hawks.
In the same ceremony at Medeenet Ilaboo, it appears that the
king, when holding the rope, has the cubit in his haiid, and,
when following the ark, the cup of libation ; wiuch calls to mind
the office of the Stolistes mentioned by Clemens, " having in his
hand the cubit of justice, and the cup of libation ;" and he, in
like manner, is jireceded by the sacred scribe.
Tlie nu)de of carrying the sacred arks on poles borne by priests,
or by the nobles of the land, was extended to the statues of the
gods, and other sacred objects belonging to the temples. The
former, as !Macrobius states, were frequently placed in a case or
canopy ; and tlie same writer is correct in stating that the chief
people of the nonie assisted in this service, even the sons of the
king being proud of so honourable an employment. What he
afterwards savs of their *• being- carrird forward according to
divine inspiration, whithersoever the deity urges them, and not
by their own will," cannot fail to call to mind the supposed die-
286 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
tation of a secret influence, bj' which the bearers of the dead, in
the funeral processions of modern Egypt, pretend to be actuated.
To such an extent do tliey carry this superstitious belief of their
ancestors, that I have seen them in their solemn march suddenly
stop, and then run violently through the streets, at the risk of
throwing the body off the bier, pretending that they were obliged,
by the irresistible will of the deceased, to visit a certain mosk, or
seek the blessing of a particular saint.
Few other processions of any great importance are represented
in the sculptures ; nor can it be expected that the monuments
would give more than a small proportion of the numerous fes-
tivals, or ceremonies, which took place in the country.
Many of -the religious festivals were indicative of some pecu-
liar attribute or supposed property of the deity in whose honour
they were celebrated. One, mentioned by Herodotus, was em-
blematic of the generative principle, and the same that appears
to be alluded to by Plutarch under the name of Paamylia,
wliich he says bore a resemblance to one of the Greek ceremonies.
The assertion, however, of these writers, that such figures be-
longed to Osiris, is contradicted by the sculptures, which show
them to have been emblematic of the god Khem, or Pan ; and
this is confirmed by another observation of the latter writer, that
the leaf of the fig-tree represented the deity of that festival, as
well as the land of Egypt. The tree does indeed represent
Egypt, and always occurs on the altar of Khem ; but it is not in
any way connected with Osiris, and the statues mentioned by
Plutarch evidently refer to the Egyptian Pan.
According to Herodotus, the only two festivals, in which it
was lawful to sacrifice pigs, were those of the Moon and Bacchus
(or Osiris) : the reason of which restriction he attributes to a
sacred reason, which he does not think it right to mention. " In
sacrificing a pig to the Moon, they killed it ; and when they had
put together the end of the tail, the spleen, and the caul, and
covered them with all the fat from the inside of the animal, they
burnt them ; the rest of the victim being eaten on the day of
t!ie full Moon, which was the same on which the sacrifice
Chap. IV. OTHER FESTIVALS. 287
was ottl'red, for on no other day were they allowed to eAt the
Hc'sli of the pig. Poor people who had barely the means of sub-
sistence made a paste figure of a pig< which being baked, they
offered as a sacrifice." The same kind of substitute was, doubt-
less, made for other victims, by those who could not afford to
purchase them : and some of the small glass and clay figures of
animals found in tiie tombs, have probably served for this pur-
pose. " On the ft'te of Bacchus, every one immolated a pig
before the door of his house, at the liour of dinner ; he then gave
it back to the person of whom it had been bought." " The
Egyptians," adds the historian, " celebrate the rest of this fete
nearly in the same manner as the Greeks, with the exception of
the sacrifice of pigs."
The procession on this occasion was headed, as usual, by
music, a flute-player, according to Herodotus, leading the van ;
and the first .sacred emblem they carried was a hydria, or water-
pitcher. A festival was also held on the 17th of Athyr, and
three succeeding days, in honour of Osiris, during which they
exposed to view a gilded ox, tlie emblem of that deify ; and
commemorated what they called the " loss of Osiris" Another
followed in honour of the same deity, after an interval of six
months, or 179 days, •' upon the 19th of Pachon ; when they
marched in procession towards the sea-side, whither, likewise, the
priest and other proper officers carried the sacred chest, inclosing
a small boat or vessel of gold, into which they first poured some
fresh water, and then all present cried out with a loud voice,
' Osiris is found.' This ceremonv bein'jr ended, thev threw a
little fresli mould, together with rich odours and spices, into the
water, mixing the whole mass together, and working it up into
a little image in the shape of a crescent. The image was after-
wards dressed and adorned with a proper habit ; and the whole
was intended to intimate tliat they looked upon these gods as the
essence and power of Earth and Water."
Another festival in honour of Osiris was held " on the new
Moon of the month Phamenoth, which fell in the beginning
of spring, called the entrance of Osiris into the Moon ;" and on
288 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
the 11th of Tybi (or the beginning of January) was celebrated
the fete of Isis's return from Plioenicia, when cakes, having a
hippopotamus bound stamped upon them, were offered in her
honour, to commemorate the victory over Typho. A certain
rite was also performed in connection with the fabulous history
of Osiris, in whicii it was customary to throw a cord in the midst
of the assembly and then chop it to pieces ; the supposed pur-
port of which was to record the desertion of Thueris, the concu-
bine of Typho, and her delivery from a serpent, which the sol-
diers killed with their swords as it pursued her in her flight to
join the army of Horus.
Among the ceremonies connected with Osiris, the fete of Apis
holds a conspicuous place.
For Osiris was also worshipped under the form of Apis, the
Sacred Bull of Memphis, or as a human figure with a bull's head,
accompanied by the name " Apis-Osiris." According to Plutarch,
" Apis was a fair and beautiful image of the Soul of Osiris ;" and
the same author tells us that " Mnevis, the Sacred Ox of Helio-
polis, was also dedicated to Osiris, and honoured by the Egyptians
with a reverence next to that paid to Apis, whose sire some
pretend him to be." This agrees with the statement of Diodorus,
who says, Apis and Mnevis were both sacred to Osiris, and wor-
shipped as gods throughout the whole of Egypt ; and Plutarch
suggests that, from these well-known representations of Osiris,
the people of Elis and Argos derived the idea of Bacchus with
an ox's head ; Bacchus being reputed to be the same as Osiris.
Herodotus, in describing him, says, " Apis, also called Epaphus,
is a young bull, whose mother can have no other offspring, and
who is reported by the Egyptians to conceive from lightning sent
rom heaven, and thus to produce the god Apis. He is known
by certain marks : his hair is black ; on his forehead is a white
triangular spot, on his back an eagle, and a beetle under his
tongue, and the hair of his tail is double." Ovid represents him
of various colours. Strabo says his forehead and some parts of
his body are of a w hite colour, the rest being black ; " by which
sign* they fix upon a new one to succeed the other, when he
Cn.vp. IV.
APIS. MNEVIS.
289
dies;" and I'luturch thinks that, "on account of flio. g-ieat
resemblance tliey iniag-ine between Osiris and tiie IMoon, iiis
more bright and shining- parts being shadowed and obscured by
those tiiat are of a darker hue, they call the Apis the living image
of Osiris, and suppose him begotten by a ray of generative light,
flowing from the moon, and fixing upon his motlier, at a time
when she was strongly disposed for it."
Pliny speaks of Apis " having a white spot in the form of a
crescent upon his right side, and a lump under his tongue in the
form of a beetle." Annnianus Marcelliims says the white cres-
cent on his right side was the principal sign, and vEIian men-
tions twenty-nine marks, by which he was recognized, each
referable to some mystic signification. But he pretends that the
Egyptians did not allow those given by Herodotus and Arista-
goras. Some suppose him entirely black ; and others contend
that certain marks, as the predominating black colour, and the
l)eetle on his tongue, show him to be consecrated to the sun, as
the crescent to the moon. Ammianus and others say that
" Apis was sacred to the Moon, Mnevis to the Sun;" and most
authors describe the latter of a black colour.
It is difficult to decide if Herodotus is correct respecting the
peculiar marks of Apis. There is, however, evidence from the
bron/es, found in Egypt, that the vulture (not eagle) on liis
27T.
VOL. I.
1. Bronze figure of Ajiis.
In Uu pcssesflon of Hits Jiogtrt
2. The marks on his back.
290 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
back was one of his characteristics, supplied, no doubt, like many
others, by the priests themselves ; who probably put him to much
inconvenience, and jjain too, to make the marks and hairs con-
form to his description.
To Apis belonged all the clean oxen, chosen for sacrifice ; the
necessary requisite for which, according- to Herodotus, was, that
they should be entii'ely free from black spots, or even a single
black hair ; though, as I shall have occasion to remark in treating
of the sacrifices, this statement of the historian is far from accu-
rate. It may also be doubted if the name Epaphus, by which he
says Apis was called by the Greeks in their language, was of
Greek origin.
He is called in the hieroglyphic legends Hapi ; and the bull,
the demonstrative and figurative sign following his name, is
accompanied by the crux ansata, or emblem of life. It has
278. Hieroglyphlcal name of Apis.
seldom any ornament on its head ; but the figure of Apis-(or
TIapi-)Osiris generall}^ wears the globe of the sun, and the Asp,
the symbol of divine majesty ; wliich are also given to the bronze
figures of this bull.
Memphis was the place where Apis was kept, and where his
worship was particularly observed. He was not merely looked
upon as au emblem, but, as Pliny and Cicero say, was deemed
" a god by the Egyptians :" and Strabo calls " Apis the same as
Osiris." Psammaticus there erected a grand court (ornamented
with figures in lieu of columns 12 cubits in height, forming an
inner peristyle), in which he was kejjt when exhibited in public.
Attached to it were the two stables (" delubra," or " thalami "),
mentioned by Pliny : and Strabo says, " Before the enclosure
where Apis is kept, is a vestibule, in which also the mother of
the sacred bull is fed ; and into this vestibule Apis is introduceri,
in order to be shown to strangers. After being brought out fi»r
Chap. IV. DEATH OF APIS. 2*.li
a little while, he is again taken back ; at other times he is only
seen tlirounh a window." "■ Tlie temple of Apis is close to tliat
of Vulcan ; \\ hicli last is remarkable for its architectural beautv,
its extent, and the richness of its decoration."
The festival in honour of Apis lasted seven days ; on which
occasion a large concourse of people assembled at jNIemphis.
The priests then led the sacred bull in solemn procession, all
people coming for\\ard from tlK'ir houses to welcome him as he
passed ; and Pliny and Solinus affirm, that children who smelt
his breath were thought to be thereby gifted w ith tJie power of
predicting future events.
Diodorus derives the worship of Apis from the belief of "the
soul of Osiris having migrated into this animal, who was thus
supposed to manifest himself to man through successive ages ;
though some report that the members of Osiris, when killed by
Typho, having been deposited in a wooden ox, enveloped in
byssine cloths, gave the name to the city of Busiris, and esta-
blished its worship there."
"When the Apis died, certain priests, chosen for this duty, went
in quest of another, wlio was known from the signs mentioned in
the sacred books. As soon as he was found, they took him to the
city of the Nile, preparaloiy to his removal to Memphis, where
he A^as kept 40 diys; during which period women alone were
permitted to see him. These 40 days being completed, he was
placed in a boat, with a golden cabin prepared to receive him.
and he was conducted in state upon the Nile to Memphis.
Pliny and Ammianus. however, declare that they led the bull
Apis to the fountain of the priests, and drowned him with much
ceremony, as soon as the tifue prescribed in the sacred books
was fulfilled. This Plutarch limits to 25 years (" the square of
five, and the same number as the letters of the Elgyptian alpha-
bet "), beyond which it w as forbidden that he sliould live ; and
having put him to death, they sought another to succeed him.
His body was embalmed, and a grand funeral procession touk
place at Memphis, when his coffin, " placed on a sledge, was
followed liy the priests," '• dressed in the spotted sivins of fa\Mi.>
292 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
(leopards), bearing the thyrsus in their hands, uttering tlie
same cries, and making tlie same gesticulations as the votaries
of Bacchus during the ceremonies in honour of 'that god."
When the Apis died a natural death, his obsequies were
celebrated on the most magnificent scale ; and to such extra-
\agance was this carried, that those who had the office of taking
charge of him were often ruined by the heavy expenses entailed
upon them. On one occasion, , during the reign of the first
Ptolemy, upwards of 50 talents were borrowed to defray the
necessary cost of his funeral ; " and in our time," says Diodorus,
" tlie curators of other sacred animals have expended 100 talents
in their burial."
As soon as he was buried, permission was given to the priests
to enter the temple of Sarapis, though previously forbidden
during the whole festival.
The burial-place of the Apis bulls has lately been discovered by
M. Mariette, near Memphis. It consists of an arched gallery
iiewn in the rock, about 20 feet in height and breadth, and 2000
feet in length (besides a lateral gallery). On each side is a
series of chambers, or recesses, which might be called sepulchral
stalls; every one containing a large sarcophagus of granite,
15 feet by 8, in which the body of a sacred bull was deposited ;
and when visited by Mr. Harris (in INIarch, 1852) 30 sarcophagi
had been already found. One only had an inscription, with the
idaiik oval of a king ; but on the walls were Several tablets, and
fragments of others lay on the ground, containing dedications to
Apis, in behalf of some person deceased ; one with the name of
Amasis, and another of Ptolemaic time. Mention was also
made of the birth, death, and burial of the bulls. They mostly
lived 17 to 20 years (25 being the prescribed limit of their life),
so that the 30 would only go back to about the beginning of the
26th dynasty. Many more have, therefore, to be discovered.
Before this is a paved road, with lions ranged on each side,
al>out 8 feet high, which forms the approach ; and before this
again is a temple, supposed to be the Sarapeum, with a sort of
v'.-stibule ; and at the door-way, between these two, are, on
Chap. IV. THE NEW APIS. 293
either side, a crouched lion and a tal)let, on one of wliidi king
Nectanebo, folluwefl hy a priest of Aj)is-Osiris (Sarapis?), is
represented making- an offering ; and in the upper line are eight
deities, with an altar before them — Amunra, Mant, Khons,
Ilorus, Athor, Mandoo (Month), Kheni, and Osiris. In the
vestibule are statues of 1 1 divinities, of Greek form (one of whom
is Jupiter), seated in a half circle. These are of Greek or
Roman time ; but near the spot have been found the names of
Amyrtgeus, and of some late unknown Egyptian kings ; and that
of the second Remeses on the surface of the ground above.
From wiiatever cause the death of Apis took place, the people
performt-d a jjublic lamentation, as if Osiris himself had died : and
this mourning lalsted until the other Apis, his successor, had been
found. They then conmienced the rejoicings, which were cele-
brated with an enthusiasm equal to the grief exhibited during the
previous mourning.
Of the discovery of a new Apis, ^lian gives the following
account : — " As soon as a report is circulated that the Egyptian
god has manifested himself, certain of the sacred scribes, well
versed in the mystical marks, known to them by tradition, ap-
proach the spot where the divine cow ha5? deposited her calf, and
then (following the ancient ordonnance of Hermes) feed him with
milk during four months, in a house facing the rising sun. AVhen
this period has passed, the sacred scribes and prophets resort to
the dwelling of Apis, at the time of the new moon, and placing
him in a boat prepared for the purpose, convey him to Memphis,
wiiere he has a convenient and agreeable abode, with j)leasure
grounds, and ample space for wholesome exercise. Female com-
panions of his own species are" provided for him, the most beauti-
ful that can be found, kept in apartments, to which he has access
when he wishes. lie drinks out of a well or fountain of clear
water ; for it is not tiiought right to give him the water of tlie
Nile, whicii is considered too fattening.
" It would be tedious to relate what pompous processions and
sacred ceremonies the Egyptians perform, on the celebration of
the rising of the !\ile, at the fete of the Theoj)hania. in honour
294 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
of this god, or what dances, festivities, and joyful assemblies are
aj^pointed on the occasion, in the towns and in the country."
He then says, " the man from whose herd the divine beast has
sprung, is the happiest of mortals, and is looked upon with
admiration by all people ; " which refutes his previous statement
respecting the divine cow : and the assertions of other writers, as
well as probability, .show that it was not the mother which was
chosen to produce a calf with particular marks, but that the Apis
was selected from its having them. The honour conferred on
the cow which bore it was retrospective, being given her after
the Apis with its proper marks " had been found " by the priests ;
and this is consistent with the respect paid to the possessor of the
favoured herd, in which the sacred bull had been discovered.
" Apis," continues the naturalist, " is an excellent interpretation
of futurity. He does not employ virgins, or old women, sitting on
a tripod, like some other gods, nor require that they should be
intoxicated with the sacred potion ; but inspires boys, who play
around his stable, with a divine impulse, enabling them to pour
out predictions in perfect rhythm."
The Egyptians not only paid divine honours to the bull Apis,
but, considering him the living image and representative of
Osiris, they consulted him as an oracle, and drew from his actions
good or bad omens. They were in the habit of offering him any
kind of food with the hand : if he took it, the answer was con-
sidered favourable ; if he refused, it was thought to be a sinister
omen. Pliny and Ammianus observe, that lie refused what the
unfortunate Germanicus presented to him ; and the death of ihat
prince, which happened shortly after, was thought to confirm
most unequivocally the truth of those presages. The Egyptians
also drew omens respecting the welfare of their country, accord-
ing to the stable in Avhich he happened to be. To these two
stables he had free access ; and when he spontaneously entered
one, it foreboded benefits to Egypt, as the other the reverse ; and
many other tokens were derived from accidental circun) stances
connected with this sacred animal.
Pausanias says, that those who wished to consult Apis first
Chap. IV. OMENS FROM APIS. 205
burnt incense on an altar, filling the lainp.s witli oil ^\■Ilicll were
lighted there, aiul depositing a piece of money on the altar to the
right of the statue of the god. Then placing their mouth near
his ear, in order to consult him, they asked whatever question
they wished. This done, they withdrew, covering their two
ears until thev were outside the sacred precincts of the temjde ;
and there listening to the lirst expression any one uttered, they
drew from it the desired omen.
Children, also, according to Pliny and Solinus, who attended
in great numbers during the processions in honour of the divine
bull, received the gift of foretelling future events ; and the same
authors mention a superstitious belief at Memphis, of the influ-
ence of Apis upon the Crocodile, during the seven days when
his birth was celebrated. On this occasion, a gold and silver
patera was annually thrown into the Nile, at a spot called from its
form the '■ Bottle ;" and while this festival was held, no one was
in danger of being attacked by crocodiles, though bathing care-
lessly in the river. But it could no longer be done with im-
punity after the sixth hour of the eighth day. The hostility of
that animal to man was then observed invariably to return, as if
permitted by the deity to resume its habits.
Apis was usually kept in one or other of the two stables —
seldom going out, except into the court attached to them, where
strangers came to visit him. But on certain occasions he was
conducted through the town with great pomp. He was then
escorted by numerous guards, who made a way amidst the
crowd, and prevented the apj)roach of the profane ; and a chorus
of children singing hymns in his honour headed the procession.
The greatest attention was paid to the health of Apis ; they took
care to obtain for him the most wholesome food ; and they
rejoiced if they could preserve his life to the full extent jire-
scribed by law. Plutarch also notices his being forbidden to
drink the water of the Nile, in consequence of its having
.1 peculiarly fattening property. " For," he adds. " they en-
deavour to prevent fatness, as well in Apis, as in them-
selves ; always studious that their bodies may sit as light about
296 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
their souls as possible, in order that their mortal part may not
oppress and weigh down the more divine and immortal."
Many fetes were held at different seasons of the year ; for, as
Herodotus observes, far from being contented with one festival,
the Egyptians celebrate annually a very great number : of
which that of Diana (Pasht), kept at the city of Bubastis, holds
the first rank, and is performed with the greatest pomp. Next
to it is that of Isis, at Busiris, a city situated in the middle of
the Delta, with a very large temple, consecrated to that Goddess,
the Ceres of the Greeks. The third in importance is the fete of
Minerva (Neith), held at Sais ; the fourth, of the Sun, at Helio-
polis ; the fifth, of Latona in the city of Buto ; and the sixth is
that performed at Papremis, in honour of INIars.
In going to celebrate the festival of Diana at Bubastis, it was
customary to repair thither by water ; and parties of men and
women were crowded together on that occasion in numerous
Doats, without distinction of age or sex. During the whole
of the journey, several women played on crotala (clappers)
and some men on the flute ; others accompanying them with
the voice and the clapping of hands, as was usual at musical
parties in Egjpt. Whenever they approached a town, the boats
were brought near to it ; and while the singing continued, some
of the women, in the most abusive manner, scoffed at those on
the shore as they passed by.
Arnved at Bubastis, they performed the rites of the festival,
oy tne sacrifice of a great number of victims ; and the quantity
of wme consumed on the occasion was said to be more than
during all the rest of the year. The number of persons present
was reckoned by the inhabitants of tlie place to be 700,000,
without including children ; and it is probable that the appear-
ance presented by this concourse of people, the scenes which
occurred, and the picturesque groups they presented, were not
altogether unlike those witnessed at the modern fetes of Tanta
and Dessook in the Delta, in honour of the Sayd el Beddawee,
and Shekh Ibrahim e' Dessookee.
The number stated by the historian is beyond all probability,
Chap. IV. Ffc,TES. 297
notwitlistanding the population of ancient Egypt ; and cannot fail
to call to mind the 70,000 pilgrims, reported by the Moslems to
be ainuially present at ^Vlekkch : ^vllose explanation of the
mode adopted, for keeping uj) that exact number, is very
ingenious ; every deficiency being supplied by a mysterious
complement of angels, obligingly presenting themselves for the
purpose ; and some contrivance of the kind may have suggested
itself to the ancient Egyptians, at the festival of Bubastis.
The fete of Isis was performed with great magnificence. The
votaries of the Goddess prei)ared themselves beforehand by
fastings and prayers, after which they proceeded to sacrifice an
ox. AVheu slain, the thighs and upper part of the haunches, the
shoulders, and neck were cut off; and the body was filled with
unleavened cakes of pure flour, with honey, dried raisins, figs,
incense, mvrrh. and other odorific substances. It was then burnt,
and a quantity of oil was poured on the fire during the process.
In the mean time those present scourged themselves in honour of
Osiris, uttering lamentations around the burnt offering ; and this
part of the ceremony being concluded, they partook of the re-
mains of the sacrifice.
This festival was celebrated at IJusiris, to commemorate the
death of Osiris, who was reported to have been buried there,
as well as in other places, and whose tomb gave the name to
the city. It was probably on this occasion that the branch of
absinthium, mentioned by Pliny, was carried by the priests of
Isis ; and dogs were made to head the procession, to com-
memorate the recovery of his body.
Another festival of Isis was held at harvest time, when the
Egj'ptians throughout the country offered the first-fruits of the
earth, and with doleful lamentations presented them at her altar.
On this occasion she seems to answer to the Ceres of the (i reeks,
(as has been observed by Herodotus) ; and the multiplicity of
names she bore may account for the diflferent capacities in mIucIi
she was worshipped, and remove the difficulty any change ap-
pears to present in the wife and sister of Osiris. One similarity
is obsenable between this last and tlie f""te celebrated at Busiris
298 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
— that the votaries presented their offerings in tlie guise of
mourners ; and the first-fruits had probably a direct reference to
Osii'is, in connection with one of those allegories which repre-
sented hini as the beneficent property of the Nile.
The festival of Minerva at Sais was performed on a particular
night, when every one, who intended to be present at the sacrifice,
was required to light a number of lamps in the open air around
his house. They were small vases filled with salt and oil, on
which a wick floated, and being lighted continued to burn all
night. They called it the Festival of Burning Lamps. It was
not observed at Sais alone : every Egyptian who could not attend
in person was required to observe the ceremony of lighting
lamps, in whatever part of the country he happened to be ; and
it was considered of the greatest consequence to do honour to
the deity, by the proper performance of this rite.
On the sacred lake of Sais they represented, probably on the
same occasion, the allegorical history of Osiris, which the
Egyptians deemed the most solemn mystery of their religion,
and which Herodotus always mentions with great caution.
The lake of Sai's still exists, near the modern town of Sa-el-
Hagar ; and the walls and ruins of the town stand high above
the level of the plain.
Those who went to Heliopolis, and to Buto, merely offered
sacrifices. At Papremis the rites were much the same as in
other places ; but when the Sun went down, a body of priests
made certain gestures about the statue of Mars, while others, in
greater numbers, armed with sticks, took up a position at the
entrance of the temple. A numerous crowd of persons, amount-
ing to upwards of 1000 men, armed with sticks, then pre-
sented tliemselves with a view of performing their vows ; but no
sooner did the priests proceed to draw forward the statue, which
had been placed in a small wooden gilded shrine, upon a four-
wlieeled car, than they were opposed by those in the vestibule,
who endeavoured to prevent their entrance into the temple.
Each party attacked its opponents with sticks ; when an affray
ensued, which, as He/odotus observes, must, in spite of all tlie
CiiAP. IV. NEW AND FULL MOON. 299
assertions of the Egyptians to the contrarv, have been frequently
attended with serious consequences, and even with loss of life.
Another festival, mentioned by Herodotus, is said to have
been foTuidod on a mysterious story of King Rhampsinitus, of
which he witnessed the celebration.
On that occasion the priests chose one of their number, whom
they dressed in a peculiar robe, made for the purpose on the
verj- day of the ceremony, and then conducted, with his eyes
bound, to a road leading to the temple of Ceres. Having left
him there, they all retired ; and two wolves were said to direct
his steps to the temple, a distance of twenty stades (2 to 2i
miles), and afterwards to reconduct him to the same spot.
On the 19th of the first month was celebrated the fete of
Thoth, from whom that month took its name. It was usual
for those who attended " to eat honey and eggs, saying to
each other, ' How sweet a thing is truth I ' " And a similar
allegorical custom was observed in IMesore, the last month of the
Egyptian year, when, on "offering the first-fruits of their lentils,
tliey exclaimed ' The tongue is fortune, the tongue is God ! ' "
Most of their fetes appear to have been celebrated at the new
or the full moon, the former being also chosen by the Israelites
for the same purpose ; and this, as well as a month being repre-
sented in hieroglyphics by a moon, may serve to show that the
months of the EgAptians were originally lunar; as in many
countries, to the present day.
The historian of Halicarnassus speaks of an annual ceremony,
which the Egyptians informed him Wcis performed at Sais, in
memory of the daugliter of Mycerinus.
But this was evidently connected witli the rites of Osiris ; and
if Herodotus is con-ect in stilting that it was a heifer (and not
an ox), it may have been the emblem of Athor, in the capacity
she held in the regions of the dead. The honours paid to it on
such an occasion could not have referred solely to a y)rincess,
whose body was deposited within it : they were evidently in-
tended for the Deity of whom it was the emblem ; and the intro-
duction of Athor, with the mysterious rites of Osiris, may be
300 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. IV.
explained by the fact of her frequently assuming the character of
Isis.
Plutarch, who seems to have in view the same ceremony, states
the animal exposed to public view on this occasion was an ox,
in commemoration of the misfortunes reported to have happened
to Osiris. " About this time (the month of Athyr, whea the
Etesian winds have ceased to blow, and the Nile, returning to
its own channel, has left the country everywhere bare and naked),
in consequence of the increasing length of the nights, the power
of darkness appears to prevail, whilst that of light is diminished
and overcome. The priests, therefore, practise certain doleful
rites ; one of which is to expose to public view, as a proper
representation of the present grief of the goddess (Isis), an ox
covered with a pall of the finest black linen, that animal being
looked upon as the living image of Osiris. The ceremony is
performed four days successively, beginning on the 17th of the
above-mentioned month. They represent thereby four things
which they mourn : — 1. The falling of the Nile and its retiring
within its own channel : 2. The ceasing of the northern winds,
which are now quite suppressed by the prevailing strength of
those from the south : 3. The length of the nights and the
decrease of the days : 4. The destitute condition in which the
land now appears, naked and desolate, its trees despoiled of their
leaves. Thus they commemorate what they call the ' loss of
Osiris ;' and on the 19th of the month (Pachons?) another festi-
val represents the ^finding of Osiris. ' "
Small tablets in the tomba eometimes represent a black bull,
bearing the corpse of a man to its final abode in the regions of
the dead. The name of this bull is shown by the sculptures in
the Oasis to be Apis, the type of Osiris; it is therefore not
unreasonable to suppose it, in some way, related to this fable.
There were several festivals in honour of Re, or the Sun.
Plutarch states that a sacrifice was performed to him, on the
fourth day of every month, as related in the books of the genealogy
of Horus, by whom that custom was said to have been instituted ;
and so great was the veneration paid to the Sun, that they
Chap. TV. MUSIC IN FltTES. 301
burnt incense to him three times a day — resin at his " first rising,
myrrh when in the meridian, and a mixture called kuplii " at
the time of setting. The principal worship of Re was at Ilelio-
polis. of which lie was the presiding deity ; and every city had
certain holy days peculiarly consecrated to its patron, besides
those common to the whole country.
Another festival in iionour of the Sun was lield on the
30tli day of Epiphi, called the birth-day of Ilorus's eyes, when
the Sun and Moon were in the same right line with the eartli ;
and " on tlie 22d day of Phaophi, after the autunuial equinox,
was a similar one, to which, according to Plutarch, they gave
the name of ' the nativity of the staves of the Sun :' intimating
that the Sun Avas then removing from the earth ; and as its light
became weaker and weaker, tliat it stood in need of a staff to
supj)ort it. In reference to which notion," he adds, '' about the
winter solstice, they lead the sacred Cow seven times in pro-
cession around her temple ; calling this the searching after Osiris,
that season of the year standing most in need of the Sun's
warmth."
Clemens mentions the custom of carrying foiu- golden figures
in the festivals of the gods. They were, two dogs, a hawk, and
an ibis, which, like the number four, had a mysterious meaning.
The dogs represented the Hemispheres, tlie hawk the Sun. and
the ibis the Moon : but he does not state if this was usual at all
festivals, or conhned to those in lumour of particular deities.
In their religious solemnities music was })ermitted, and even
required, as acceptable to the gods ; except, if we may be-
lieve Strabo, in the temple of Osiris, at Abydus. It probably
differed mucli from that used on ordinary festive occasions, and
was, according to Apuleius, of a lugubrious character. But
this I have already mentioned in treating of the music of the
P2gyptians.*
* Chapter ii. p. 129.
The. Pyramids, during the Inundation, from near the Fork of the Delta.
CHAPTER V.
ORIGIN OF THE EGTPTIANS — POPULATIOX OF EGVPT AND OF THE WORLD OF
OLD — HISTORY — THE KING PRINCES — PRIESTS — THEIR SVSTEM
RELIGION — GODS — TRIADS — DRESSES AND MODE OF LIFE OF THE PRIESTS
SOLDIERS — ARMS — CHARIOTS — SHIPS AND NAVY — ENEMIES OF EGYPT
— CONQUESTS.
Having mentioned those customs particularly connected with the
private life of the Egyptians, I proceed to notice their early
history, government, and institutions ; as well as the occupations
of the different chisses of the community.
The origin of the Egyptians is enveloped in the same obscurity
as that of most people ; but they were undoubtedly from Asia ;
as is proved by the form of the skull, which is that of a Cau-
casian race, by their features, hair, and other e\-idences ; and the
whole valley of the Xile throughout Ethiopia, all Abyssinia, and
the coast to the south, were peopled by Asiatic immigrations.
Nor are the Kafirs a Negro race. Pliny is therefore right in
saying that the people on the banks of the Nile, south of Syene,
were Arabs (or a Semitic race) " who also founded Heliopolis."
At the period of the colonization of Egypt, the aboriginal
population was doubtless small, and the change in the peculiari-
ties of the new comers was proportionably slight ; little varia-
tion being observable in the form of the skull from the Caucasian
oriirinal. Still there was a change: and a modification in
character as well as conformation must occur, in a greater or
less degree, whenever a mixture of races has taken place.
I may even venture to suggest that while the present races in
CriAP. V. ORIGIN OF THE EGYPTIANS. 303
Europe are all traceable to an Asiatic origin, they must there have
found at the period of their immigration an indigenous iio'pula-
tion, which, though small, had its inHneiice upon I'liem. And
this conclusion is confirmed by the fact, that while in N. America
the people who have become its new inhabitants are (as they always
will continue to be) essentially P^uropean, the P^uropeans are
decidedly not Asiatics, and differ entirely from them in charac-
ter, habits, and appearance. The difference between all Eu-
ropeans and the Asiatics is as palpable, as the identity of the new
American race and their European ancestors ; and this is readily
explained by the Asiatic tribes who peopled Europe having mixed
witii the indigenous races of our continent, while the Europeans
who colonised America have kept themselves distinct from the
aborigines. It is not necessary that the primitive Europeans
should, as some have thought, be traceable in the Basques, or
any other people, and the absorption of all of them is rather to be
expected after so many ages.
The Egyptians jirobably came to the Valley of the Nile as con-
querors. Their advance was through Lower Egy[)t southwards ;
and the extraordinary notion that they descended, and derived
their civilisation, from Ethiopia has long since been exploded.
Equally obsolete is the idea that the Delta occupies a tract once
covered by the sea, even after Egypt was inhabited ; and the argu-
ment derived from Homer's " Isle of Pharos" having been a
day's sail " from iEgyptus " has failed before the fact of his
'• ^Egyptns " being the name he applies to the Nile, not to the
coast of Eg)'pt ; which being rock in that part, is exactly the
same distance from the Pharos now as at any previous period,
thousrh the intermediate channel has been filled up by a cause-
way that unites it to the shore. The oldest towns, too, on the
coast of the Delta occupy the same site, close to the sea, as of
old ; and whatever may be the accumulation of soil, it is counter-
balanced by a sinking of the land, from subterraneous agency,
along the whole of the nortiiern coast of Egypt.
Though a country which played a distinguished part in the
early historj- of the m orld. its extent was very limited ; Egypt
304 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
itself consisting merely of the narrow strip of land between the
IMediterrauean and the first cataract, about seven degrees and a
half of latitude. For, with the exception of the northern jjart
about the Delta, the average width of the valley of the Nile,
between the eastern and western hills, is only about seven miles,
and that of the cultivable land scarcely more than five and a half,
being in the widest part ten and three-quarters, and in the nar-
rowest two miles, including the river. And that portion between
Edfoo and Asouan, at the first cataract, is still narrower, barely
leaving room for any soil, so that those sixty miles do not enter
into the general average.
The extent in square miles of the northernmost district, between
the Pyramids and the sea, is considerable ; and that of the Delta
alone, which forms a portion of it, may be estimated at 1976
square miles ; for though it is very narrow about its apex, at the
junction of the modern Rosetta and Damietta branches, it gradually
widens on approaching the coast, where the base of this some-
what irregular triangle is eighty-one miles. And as much irri-
gated land stretches on either side E. and W. of the two branches,
the northern district, with the intermediate Delta included, will
be found to contain about 4500 square miles, or double the
whole arable land of Egypt, which may be computed at 2255
square miles, exclusive of the Fyoom, a small province consisting
of about 340.
The number of towns and villages reported to have stood on
this tract, and in the upper parts of the valley of the Nile, ap-
pears incredible ; and Herodotus affirms that 20,000 popu-
lous cities existed in Egypt during the reign of Amasis.
Diodorus calculates 1 8,000 large villages and towns ; and states
that, under Ptolemy Lagus, they amounted to upwards of 30,000,
a number which remained even at the period when he wrote, or
about forty-four years before our era. But the population was
already greatly reduced, and of the seven millions who once
inhabited Egypt, about three only remained in the time of the
historian ; so that Josephus must overstate it when, in the reign
of Vespasian, he still reckons seven millions and a half in the
Cii.vp. V POPULATION OF EGYPT. 305
valley of the Nile, besides the population of Alexandria, vhicli
amounted to more than 300,000 souls. To such an extent has
the population of Epcj'pt diminished, that it now scarcely amounts
to two millions ; l)ut tliis decrease is not peculiar to Egypt ; and
other countries, once more remarlvable for their populousness,
have undergone a similar change ; while others, then scantily
peopled, now teem w ith iniiabitants. Indeed, the question sug-
gests itself, whether the world, within historic times at least, has
not always had the same amount of population as at tlie present
day ? "Whatever increase has taken place in some parts of the
globe, the total will not surpass that of olden times ; and when we
compare the populous condition of Assyria, and the neighbouring
countries, Persia, India, Asia Minor, Syria, and Scythia, which,
till Tartar times, spread its hordes over distant countries, we are
led to the conviction that the inhabitants of the small continent
of Europe, and the rising population of America, do not exceed
the numbers that crowded the ancient world. This, however, is
only a question I offer (with great deference) to those who are
competent to decide it.
Besides the inhabitants of the country between tlie first cataract
and the sea, Egypt included those of the neighbouring districts
under her sway, who greatly increased her power ; and in her
flourishing days, the Ethiopians, Libyans, and others, united w ith
her, and formed part of her j)ermaneiit dominions.
The produce of the land was doubtless mucli greater in the
earlier periods of its history than at the present day, owing as
well to the superior industry' of the people as to a better system
of government, and suflliced for the support of a very dense
population ; yet Egypt, if well cultivated, could now maintain
many more inhabitants than at any former jjeriod, owing ft) the
increased extent of tlie irrigated land : and if the ancient Egyp-
tians enclosed those portions of the uninundated edge of the
desert which were capable of cultivation, the same expedient
miglit still be resorted to ; and a larger proportion of soil now
overflowed by the risirii; xsile offers additional advantages. That
the irrigated part of the valley was nuich less extensive than at
VOL. I. X
306 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
present, at least wherever the plain stretches to any distance E.
and W., or to the right and left of the river, is evident from the
fact of the alluvial deposit constantly encroaching in a hori-
zontal direction upon the gradual slope of the desert ; and, as a
very perceptible elevation of the river's bed, as well as of the
land of Egypt, has always been going on, it requires no argu-
ment to prove that a perpendicular rise of the water must cause
it to flow to a greater distance over an open space to the E.
and W.
Thus the plain of Thebes, in the time of Amunoph III., or
about 1400 years before our era, was not more than two thirds of
its present breadth ; and the statues of that monarch, around which
the alluvial mud has accumulated to the height of nearly seven
feet, are based on the sand tliat once extended some distance be-
fore them. This at once explains why the ancient Egyptians were
constantly obliged to raise mounds round the old towns, to prevent
their being overwhelmed by the inundation of the Nile ; the in-
creased height of its rise, which took place after a certain number
of years, keeping pace witli the gradual elevation of the bed of the
river. How erroneous, then, is it to suppose that the drifting ands
of the encroaciiing desert threaten the welfare of this country, or
have in any way tended to its downfall ! and hoM' much more
reasonable is it to ascribe the degraded condition, to which
Egypt is reduced, to catises of a far more baneful nature, —
foreign despotism, the insecurity of property, and the effects of
that old age which is the fate of every country, as well as of every
individual, to undergo ! For though the sand has encroached in a
few places on the west side, from the Libyan desert, the general en-
croachment is vastly in favour of the alluvial dejDosit of the Nile.
Besides the numerous towns and villages in the plain, many
were prudently placed by the ancient Egyptians on the slope of
the desert, at a short distance from the irrigated land, in order
not to occupy more than was necessary of the soil so valuable for
its productions ; and frequently with a view of encouraging some
degree of cultivation in the desert plain ; which, though above
the reach of the inundation, might be irrigated by artificial ducts,
Chap. V. GOVERNMENT. FIRST KING. 307
or by water raiseil fruni inland wells. IMouiids and ruined walls
still mark tiie sites of those villages, in diti'erent ])arts of Ky:ypt ;
and in a few instances the remains of magnificent temples, or the
autiiority of ancient authors, attest the existence of large cities in
similar situations. Tiius Abydus, Athribis, Tentyris, parts of
Memphis, and C)xyrhinchus, stood on the edge of the desert ; and
the town that once occupied the vicinity of Kasr Kharcion, at the
western extremity of the Fyoom, was far removed from the
fertilising influence of the inundation. This province, formerlv
the Nome of Crocodilopolis, or Arsinoe, was indebted entirely for
its fertility to artificial irrigation ; and a supply of water was
conducted to it by a canal from the Nile, and kept up all the
year in the immense reservoir made there by King Mreris.
The Egyptians seem at first to have had a hierarchical form of
govermnent, which lasted a long time, until Menes was chosen
king, probably between 20C0 and 3000 years before our era.
Menes was of This, in Upper Egypt ; and at his death, or that of
his son, the country was divided into the southern and northern
kingdoms, a Thinite and Memphite dynasty ruling at the same
time. Other independent kingdoms, or principalities, also started
up, and reigned contemporaneously in different parts of Egypt.
The Memphite kings of the 3rd and 4tii, who built the Pyramids,
and Osirtasen I., the leader of the r2th, or 2nd Theban dynasty,
were the most noted among tliem. Tlie latter was the original
Sesostris ; but his exploits having been, many generations after-
wards, eclipsed by those of Kenieses the Great, they w(?re trans-
ferred together with the name of Sesostris to the later and more
glorious conqueror ; and Ilemeses II. became the traditional
Sesostris of Egyptian history. Osirtasen, vho seems to have ruled
all Egypt as lord paramount, ascended the throne about 2080
B.C. ; but the contemporaneous kiuLidoms continued, till a new one
arose w Inch led to the subjugation of the country, and to the ex-
pulsion of the native princes from Lower, and apparently for a
time from Upper Egy|)t also ; when they were oblige<l to take
refuge in Ethiopia. This dominion of the Shepherd kings lasted
upwards of half a century. At length about 1530 b.c. Ainosis, tht'
.\ 2
308 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
leader of the 18th dynasty, having- united in his own hands the
previously divided power of the kingdom, drove the Shepherds out
of the country, and Egypt was thenceforth governed by one king,
bearing tli" title of " Lord of the Upper and Lower Country."
Towards the latter end of this dynasty, some " Stranger kings"
obtained the sceptre, probably by right of marriage with the
royal family of Egypt ; (a plea on which the Ethiopian princes and
others obtained the crown at different times,) and Egypt again
groaned under a hateful tyranny. They even introduced very
heretical changes into the religion, they expelled the favourite
God Amun from the Pantheon, and introduced a Sun worship
unknown in Egypt. Their rule was not of very long duration ;
and having been expelled, their monuments, as well as every
record of ihera, were purposely defaced.
The kings of the 18th dynasty had extended the dominion of
Egypt far into Asia, and the interior of Africa, as the sculptures
of the Thotlimes, the Araunophs, and others show ; but Sethos and
his son Remeses II., of the 19th, who reigned from about 1370
to 1270 B.C., advanced them still farther. The conquests of
the Egyptians had been pushed into Mesopotamia as early as the
reign of Thothmes III., about 1445 B.C. ; the strong fortress of
Carchemish remained in their hands nearly all the time till the
reign of Necho ; and whenever the Egyptians boasted, in after
ages, of the power of their country, they referred to the glorious era
of the 18th and 19th dynasties. Remeses III., of the 20th dynasty,
also carried his victorious arms into Asia and Africa, about a cen-
tury after his namesake ; enforcing the tributes, previously levied
by Thothmes III. and his successors, from many countries that
formed part of the Assyrian empire. But little was done by the
kings who followed him, until the time of Sheshonk (Shishak), who
pillaged the temple of Jerusalem, and laid Judtea under tribute
B.C. 971. The power of the Pharaohs was on the decline; and
Assyria, becoming the dominant kingdom, threatened to wrest
from Egypt all the possessions she had obtained during a long
career of conquest. Tirhaka (Tehrak), who v.ith the Sabacos
composed the 25th Ethiopian dynasty, checked the advance of
Chap. V. DECLINE OF EGYPT. 309
the Assyrians, and forcing Sennacherib to retire from Judaea,
restored the inHiience of Eg-ypt in Syria. The Sa"ite kings of
the 26th dynasty continued to maintain it, though with doubtful
success, until the reign of Necho; when it was entirely lost ; for
soon after jN'echo had defeated and killed Josiali, kin^: of Judah,
the '' king of Babylon" " smote " his army " in Carchemish,""*
and took from the Egyptians " all that pertained to the king of
Egypt," from the boundary torrentf on the Syrian confines "unto
the river Euphrates."
No permanent conquests of any extent were henceforth
made, *■ out of his land," by the Egyptian king ; and though
Apries sent an expedition against Cyprus, defeated the Syrians
by sea, besieged and took Gaza and Sidon, and recovered
much of the influence in Syria which had been taken from Egypt
by Nebuchadnezzar, these were only temporary successes ; the
prestige of Egyi)tian power had vanished ; it had been found
necessarj' to employ Greek mercenaries in the army ; and in the
reign of Araasis, another still greater power than Assyria, or
Babylon, arose to tiireaten and complete the do\\nfall of Eg^•pt.
In the reign of ins son Psammenitus, b.c. 525, Camliyses invaded
the country, and Egypt submitted to the arms of Persia.
Several attempts were made by the Egyptians to recover their
lost liberty ; and at length, the Persian garrison having been over-
powered, and the troops sent to reconquer the country having been
defeated, the native kings were once more established (b.c. 414).
These formed the 28th, 29th, and 30th dynasties; but the last
of the Pharaohs, Nectanebo II., was defeated by Ochus, or Arta-
xerxes III., b.c. 340, and Egypt again fell beneath the yoke of
Persia. Eight years after this, Alexander the Great liberated it
from the Persians, and Ptolemy and his succe.-^sors once more
erected it into an independent kingdom, though governed by a
foreign dynasty, which lasted until it became a province of the
Roman Empire.
Though far better pleaded witii the rule of the Macedoniaji
* Jercm. xlvi. 2 ; 2 Chron. sxxv. 20. f i^ahal, " rivulet." 2 Kings xxiv. 7.
310 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
kings than of the Persians, the Egyptians were never thoroughly
satisfied to be subject to foreigners, whose manners and customs
were so different from their own; and, liowever much the
Ptolemies courted their goodwill, consulted their prejudices, and
flattered the priesthood, they never ceased to be discontented;
and occasionally showed their impatience by .'judden and ill-judged
outbreaks. To the Romans they were equally troublesome ;
but they had then ceased to be the Egyptians of bygone days ;
and oppression under the Persians, and loss of independence,
had clianged their character, and introduced the bad qualities of
cunning, deceit, perverseness, and insubordination ; which a shrewd
and vain people often have recourse to, as their offensive and de-
fensive weapons against an unwelcome master.
Proud of the former greatness of their nation, they could never
get over the disgrace of their fallen condition ; and so strong
was their bias towards their own institutions and ancient form of
government, that no foreign king, whose habits differed from
their own, could reconcile them to his rule. For no people
were more attached to their own country, to their own peculiar
institutions, and to their own reputation as a nation ; and the
sentiments of attachment that their ancestors had always felt
for their kings never lost an opportunity of displaying them-
selves, as was shown by the repeated and almost hopeless efforts
they made to expel the Persians, as well as by the delight they
manifested in once more re-establishing a native dynasty.
The king was to them the representative of the deity ; his
name, Phrah (Pharaoh), signifying "the sun," pronounced him
the emblem of the god of light, and his royal authority was
directly derived from the gods. He was the head of the religion
and of the state ; he was the judge and lawgiver ; and he com-
manded the army and led it to war. It was his right and his
office to preside over the sacrifices, and pour out libations to the
gods ; and, whenever he was present, he had the privilege of being
the officiating high priest.
The sceptre was hereditary ; but, in the event of a direct heir
failing, the claims for succession were determined by proximity
Chap. V
THE KING; PRINCES.
311
of parentage, or by ri^rlit of marriage. The kinq- was always either
of tlie military or priestly class, and the princes also belonged to
one of them. The army or the priesthood were the two profes-
sions followed by all men of rank, the navy not being an exclu-
sive service; and the ''long siiips of Sesostris" and other kings
were commanded by generals and officers taken from the army, as
was the custom of tlie Turks, and some others in modern Europe to
a very recent time. The law too was in the hands of the priests ;
so that there were only two professions. Most of the kings, as
might be expected, were of the militarj' class, and during the
glorious days of Egyptian history, the younger princes generally
adopted the same profession. Many held offices also in the royal
household, some of the most honourable of which were fan-
bearers on the right of their father, royal scribes, superintendents
of the granaries, or of the land, and treasurers of the king; and
they were generals of the cavalry, archers, and other corps, or
admirals of the fleet.
3
2T9. Princes and Childrpn. Thebet.
1. Head-dress of a prince. 2 and 3. Lock of hair w..m hr children. *. Dre^s of a son of
Remeses III. 5. Head-dress of a prince, Remese.s.
312 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
Princes were distinguished by a badge hanging from the side
of the head, which enclosed, or represented, the lock of hair em-
blematic of a " son ;" in imitation of the youthful god " Horus,
the son of Isis and Osiris," who was held forth as the model for
all princes, and the type of royal virtue. For though the
Egyptians shaved the head, and wore wigs or other coverings to
the liead, children were permitted to leave certain locks of hair ;
and if tlie sons of kings, long before they arrived at the age of
manhood, had abandoned this youthful custom, the badge Mas
attached to their head-dress as a mark of their rank as princes ;
or to show that they had not, during the lifetime of their fatlier,
arrived at kinghood ; on the same principle that a Spanish prince,
of whatever age, continues to be styled an " infant."
When the sovereign was a military man, it was his duty, as
well as his privilege, on ascending the throne, to be instructed in
the mysteries of the religion, and tlie various offices of a pontiff.
He learnt all that related to the gods, the service of the temple,
the laws of the country, and the duties of a king; and in order
to prevent any intercourse with improper persons, who might
instil into his mind ideas unworthy of a prince, it was carefully
provided that no slave or hired servant should hold any office about
his person, and that the children of the first families, who had
arrived at man's estate, and were remarkable for their ability and
piety, should alone be permitted to attend him ; from the per-
suasion that no monarch gives way to evil passions, unless he
finds those about him ready to serve as instruments to his
caprices, and to encourage his excesses. His conduct and mode
of life were regulated by prescribed rules, and care was taken to
protect the community from the caprices of an absolute monarch ;
laws being laid down in the sacred books, for the order and
nature of his occupations. He was forbidden to commit excesses ;
even the kind and quality of his food were settled with precision ;
and he was constantly reminded of his duties, both in public and
in private. At break of day public business commenced ; all
the epistolary correspondence was examined, and despatched ;
the ablutions for prayer were then performed, and the monarch,
having put on his robes of ceremony, and attended by proper
CiiAP. V. DUTIES OF THE KING. 313
orticfrs with the iiisignia of royalty, repaired to the temple to
superintend the customary sacrifices to the gods of the sanc-
tnaiy. The victims being brought to the altar, it was usual for
the high priest to place himself close to the king, while the whole
congregation present on the occasion stood round at a sliort dis-
tance from them, and to offer up prayers for the monarch, be-
seeciiing the gods to bestow on him " health, victory, power, and
all other blessings," and to '• establish the kingdom unto him and
his children for ever." His qualities were then separately
enumerated ; and the high priest particularly noticed his piety
towards the 2:<xls. and his conduct towards men. He lauded his
self-command, his justice, his magnanimity, his love of truth, his
munificence and generosity, and, above all, his entire freedom
from envy and covetousness. He exalted his moderation in
awarding the most lenient punishment to those who had trans-
gressed, and his benevolence in requiting with unbounded
liberality those who had merited his favours. These and other
similar encomiums having been passed on the character of the
monarch, the priest proceeded to review the general conduct
of kings, and to j)oint out those faults which were the re>ult of
ignorance and misplaced confidence. And it is a curious fact,
that this ancient people had already adopted the principle, that
the king- '' could do no wrong-:" and while he was exonerated
from blame, every curse and evil were denounced against his
ministers, and those advisers «ho had given him injurious counsel.
Thp idea, too, of the king "never dying" was contained in their
common formula of '• life having been given him for ever."
The object of this oration, says Diodoru.s, was to exhort the
sovereign to live in fear of the deity, and to cherisii that uprigiit
Line of conduct and demeanour, which was deemed pleasing to
the gods ; and they hoped that, by avoiding the bitterness of
reproach, and by celebrating the praises of virtue, they might
stimulate hiin to the exercise of those duties which he was
expected to fulfik The king then proceeded to examine the
entrails of the victnii, and to perform the usual ceremonies of
sacrifice : and tlie hieiOgrammat, or sacred scribe, read those
314 T-HE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
extracts from tlie holy writings which recorded the deeds and
sayings of the most celebrated men.
These regulations Mere instituted by a cautions people, when
the change took place which introduced the kingly form of
government. The law could, if required, be repealed, to protect
the country from the arbitrary conduct of a king ; and even if he
had the means of defying its power, there still remained a mode of
avenging its dignity, for the voice of the people could punish
the refractory tyrant at his death, by the disgrace of excluding
his body from interment in his own tomb. It was, however,
rather as a precaution that these laws were set forth : they were
seldom enforced, and tlie indulgence of the Egyptians to their
king gave iiim no excuse for tyranny or injustice. Nor were the
rigid regulations respecting his private life vexatiously enforced ;
and though the quantity of wine he was allowed to drink, and
numerous punctilious observances, were laid down in some old
statute, he was not expected to regard them to the very letter,
provided he benefited society by his general conduct. It was no
difficult task for a king to be popular ; the Egyptians were prone
to look upon him with affection and respect ; and if he had done
nothing to obtain their approbation as prince, the moment he
ascended the throne he was sure to be regarded with favour.
Nor did it require any great effort on his part to conform to
the general rules laid down for his conduct : and by consulting
the welfare of the country, he easily secured for himself that
good will which was due from children to a parent ; the whole
nation being as anxious for the welfare of the king as for that of
their own wives and children, or whatever was most dear to them.
To this Diodorus ascribes the duration of the Egyptian state ;
whicli not only lasted long, but enjoyed the greatest prosperity,
both at home, and in its wars with distant nations, and was
enabled by its innnense riches, resulting from trade and foreign
conquest, to display a magnificence, in its provinces and cities,
unequalled by that of any other country.
Love and respect were not merely shown to the sovereign
during his lifetime, but were continued to his memory after his
Crap. V.
DEATH OF THE KING.
815
death ; and the niainier in wliich his funeral obsequies were cele-
brated tended to show, that, though their benefactor was no more,
they retained a grateful sense of his goodness, and admiration for
liis virtues. And wliat, says the historian, can convey a greater
testimony of sincerity, free from all colour of dissimulation,
than the cordial acknowledgnient of a benefit, when the person
who conferred it no longer lives to witness the honour done to
his memory ?
On the death of every Egyptian king, a general mourning was
instituted tliroughout the country for seventy days,* hymns com-
memorating his virtues were sung, the temples were closed,
sacrifices were no longer oflfered, and no feasts or festivals were
celebrated during the whole of that period. The people tore
their garments, and, covering their heads with dust and mud,
280.
People throwing dust on thclv heads, in token of grief.
ThelKs.
formed a procession of 200 or 300 persons of botli sexes, who
met twice a day in public to sing the funeral dirge. A general
fast was also observed, and they neither allowed themselves to
taste meat nor wheat bread, and abstained, moreover, from wine
and every kind of luxury.
* Gen. 1. .S, " The Egj7itians moumed for Jacob threescore and ten dap," for
" so aie fulfilled the d.i)'s of those which are embalmed."
316 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
In the mean time the funeral was prepared, and on the last
day the body was placed in state within the vestibule of the
tomb, and an account was then given of the life and conduct of
the deceased.
The Egyptians are said to have been divided into castes,
similar to those of India ; but though a marked line of dis-
tinction was maintained between the different ranks of societv,
they appear rather to have been classes than castes, and a man
did not necessarily follow the precise occupation of his father.
Sons, it is true, usually adopted the same profession or trade as
their parent, and the rank of each depended on his occupation ;
but the children of a priest frequently chose the army for their
profession, and those of a military man could belong to the
priesthood.
The priests and military men held the highest position in the
country after the family of the king, and from them were chosen
his ministers and confidential advisers, " the wise counsellors of
Pharaoh," * and all the principal officers of state.
The priests consisted of various grades — as the chief priests, or
pontiffs ; the prophets ; judges ; sacred scribes ; the sphragistje,
who examined the victims for sacrifice ; the stolistse, dressers, or
keepers of the sacred robes ; the bearers of the shrines, banners,
and other holy emblems ; the sacred sculptors, draughtsmen, and
masons ; the embalmers ; the keepers of sacred animals ; and
various officers employed in the processions and other religious
ceremonies ; under whom were the beadles, and inferior func-
tionaries of the temple. There was also the king's own priest ;
and the royal scribes were cliosen eitiier from the sacerdotal or
the military class.
Women were not excluded from certain offices in the temple ;
there were priestesses of the gods, of the kings and queens, and
they had many employments connected with religion. They
even attended in some religious processions ; as well as at the
funeral of a deceased relation ; and an inferior class of women
* Isa. xix. 11 ; Diodov. i. 73.
Chap. V.
HOLY WOMEN.
HIT
acted as hired hiouiihts on this occasion. The queens, indeed,
and other women of high rank, hehl a very important post in tiie
service of the gods ; and an instance occurs of the title '• poiner
out of libations " being applied to a queen, which was only given
to the priests of the altar. They usually accompanied their hus-
bands as they made offerings in the temple, holding two sistra, or
281.
King offering, and the Queen holding two emblems.
Thebet.
Other emblems, before the statue of the deity. This was the
office of those '' holy women," whose duties in the temple of the
Theban Jupiter led to the strange mistake respecting the " Pel-
lices Jiovis," or Pallacidas of Amun ; but its dignity and import-
ance is sufficiently shown by its having been filled by women
of the first families in the country, and by the wives and daughters
of the kings. They were of various grades — the highest of them
were the queens, princesses, and tlie wives and daughters of the
iiigh priests, who held the sistra ; others praised the deity with
various instruments; and from being often called "minstrels"
of the god, their office seems to have been particidarly connected
with the sacred music of the temple. The itistitution may have
318
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. V.
•\^5jir^-5;ii^*iis
^BNi^^jT/^iir.^z-
Chap. V. THE PRIESTS. 315»
been a sort of college, or convent ; but as married women and
even young children might belong to it. they were evidently not
immured wltiiin the precinct.s of any place resembling a modern
nunnery ; and if they were obliged to take certain vows, and
attend to tlie dutie.s attaclied to their honourable oHice, nothing
prevented their performing all others of a public and social kind.
It was not forbitiden to strangers naturalized in Egypt to belong
to it; and one instance occurs on a papyrus of a "foreign"
woman having the same holy ottice in the service of Amun.
Tiie priests enjoyed great privileges. They were exempt from
taxes ; they consumed no part of their own income in any of
their necessary expenses ; and they had one of the three portions
into which the land of Egypt wa.s divided, free from all duties.
They were provided for from the public stores, out of wliicli they
received a stated allowance of corn, and all the other necessaries
of life ; and we find that when Pharaoh, by the advice of Joseph,
took all the land of the Egyptians in lieu of corn, the priests
were n«)t oljliged to make the same sacrifice of their landed pro-
perty, nor was tlie tax of the fifth part of the produce entailed
upon it, a^ on that of the other people.
In the sacerdotal as among the other classes, a great distinction
existed between tiie difi'erent grades; and the various orders of
priests ranked according to their j)eculiar ofl[ice. The chief or
higii priests held the first and most lionourable station ; but the
one who ofiered sacrifice and libation in the temple had the
high&«t post. He appears to have been called '*' the proj)het,"
and his tide in the hieroglyphic legends is "ASewj." He super-
intended the sacrifice of tiie victims, the processions of the sacred
boats or arks, the presentation of the ofierings at the altar, and
at funerals, and tiie anointing of the king ; and tiie same office
was held by the sovereign, when he presented incense and liba-
tions to the gods. He was marked by a peculiar dress ; a leopard
skin fitting over his linen "-obes ; a;;d the same was worn by the
king on similar occasions.
The duty of the prophet was to be fully versed in all matters
relating to religion, the laws, the worship of the gods, and the
320
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
Chap. V.
CiiAP. V. RDITATION OF Tin: PRIESTS. 321
discipline of the whole order of the priesthood ; lie presided over
the temple and the sacred rites, and directed the nianatj-einent
of the priestly revenues. In the processions he bore the holy
/ii/diia, or vase, which the king also carried on similar occasions ;
and when any new reg-nlations were introduced in matters of
religion, the prophets with the chief priests headed the conclave.
It was the great privilege of the priests to be initiated into
the mysteries ; though they were not all admitted indiscriminately
to that iionour ; and " the Egyptians neither entrusted them to
every one, nor degraded the secrets of divine matters by dis-
closing them to the profane ; reserving them for tiie heir-a})pa-
rent of the tiirone, and for such priests as excelled in virtue and
wisdom." The mysteries were also distin^-iiished into tlie greater
and the les?; ; — the latter preparatory to a fuller revelation of their
secrets. This, and the superior knowledge they possessed, gave
the priests a great ascendency over the rest of the people ;
and though all nnght enjoy the advantages of education, some
branches of learinng were reserved for particular persons.
Diodorus says, " Tiie children of the priests are taught two
different kinds of writing, — what is called the sacred, and the
more general ; and they pay great attention to geometry and
arithmetic. For the river, changing the appearance of the
country very materially every year, causes many and various dis-
cussions among neighbouring proprietors, about the extent of
their property ; and it would be difficult for any person to decide
upon their claims without geometrical proof, founded on actual
observation.
•• Of arithmetic they have also frequent need, both in their
domestic economy, and in the applicatioli of geometrical theo-
rems, besides its utility in the cultivation of astronomical studies ;
for the orders and motions of the stars are observefl at least as
industriously by the I^gyptians as by any people whatever ; and
they keep a record of the motions of each for an increditde number
of years, the study of this science having been, from tlie remotest
times, an object of national ambition with them. They have also
most punctually observed the motions, periods, and stations of the
VOL. I. T
322 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
planets, as well as the powers which they possess with respect to
the nativities of animals, and what good or evil influences they
exert ; and they frequently foretel what is to happen to a man
throughout his life, and not uncommonly predict the failure of
crops, or an abundance, and the occurrence of epidemic diseases
among men and beasts: foreseeing also earthquakes and floods,
the appearance of comets, and a variety of other things which
appear impossible to the multitude.
'' But the generality of the common people learn only from
their parents, or relations, that which is required for the exercise
of their peculiar occupations ; a few only being taught anything
of literature, and tliose principally the better classes of artificers."
If the priests were anxious to establish a character for learning
and piety, they were not less so in their endeavours to excel in the
propriety of outward demeanour, and to set forth a proper ex-
ample of humility and self-denial ; and if not in their houses, at
least in tlieir mode of living, they were remarkable for simplicity
and abstinence. They committed no excesses either in eating or
drinking; their food was plain, and in a stated quantity, and
wine was used with the strictest regard to moderation. And so
fearful were they lest the body should not " sit light upon tlie
soul," and excess should cause a tendency to increase " the cor-
poreal man," that they paid a scrujjulous attention to the most
trifling particulars of diet ; and similar precautions were extended
even to the deified animals : Apis not being allowed to drink the
water of the Nile, since it was thought to possess a fattening pro-
perty.
They were not only scrupulous about the quantity, but the
quality of their food ; and certain viands were alone allowed to ap-
pear at their table. Above all meats, that of swine was particularly
obnoxious ; and fish both of the sea and the Nile was forbidden
them, though so generally eaten by the rest of the Egyptians."
And indeed, on the 9th of the month Thoth, when a religious
ceremony obliged all the people to eat a fried fish before the door
of their houses, the priests were not even then expected to con-
form to the general custom, and they were contented to substitute
Chap. V.
BEANS; ONIONS.
323
the ceremony of burniu'j: flieirs at the appointed time. Beans
they hehl in utter abhorrence ; and Herodotus affirms that '• beans
were never sown in the country, and if they grew spontaneously,
they neitlier formed an article of food, nor even if cooked
were ever eaten by the Eg-yptians." But this aversion, which
originated in a supposed sanitary regulation, and whicli was
afterwards so scrupulously adopted by Pythagoras, did not prevent
their cultivation ; nor were the people obliged to abstain from
them ; and they were allowed to eat them in common with other
pulse and vegetables, wliich abounded in Egypt. Not only beans.
but lentils, peas, garlick, leeks, and onions were forliidden to the
priests ; who were not permitted to eat them under any pretence.
The proliibition, however, regarding them, as well as certain
meats, was confined to the sacerdotal order ; and even swine, if
we may believe Plutarcli, were not forbidden to the other
Egyptians at all times : " for tliose who sacrificed a sow to Typiio
once a year, at the full moon, afterwards ate its flesh."
It is a remarkable fact that onions, as well as the first fruits of
their lentils, were admitted among the offerings placed upon the
altars of the gods, together with gourds, figs, garlic, raphaniis
{ovjigl), cakes, beef, goose, or wild fowl, grapes, wine, and the
2S4. Fig. ; . A basket of sycamore figs.
2, 3, 4. Hipropl\-pliic sipiifyinf; '■ wife," apparently Uikpn from it.
5, 6. Cucnrl)ita Lajtcnaria, y, or Karra-toweel. 7. Garlic (?)
8. Raplianus sativiis mr. ednlis, orfgl. 9. Onions.
head of the victim. Onions were generally bound in a single
bundle, seldom presented singly ; and they were sometimes
arranged in a hollow circular hunch, which, descending upon the
table or altar, envelopcxl and served as a cover to whatever was
placed upon it. And the privilege of presenting them in this
Y 2
THli; ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. V.
form appears to have been generally enjoyed by that class of
priests who wore the leo^iard-skin dress.
/'>. '_
%. 1.
285.
Mode of tying up the onions for some offerings.
TJiehes.
In general, " the priests abstained from most sorts of pulse,
from mutton, and swine's flesh ; and in their more solemn purifi-
cations even excluded salt from their meals ;" but some vegetables
were considered lawful food, being remarkable for their whole-
some nature ; and many of the leguminous productions and fruits
of Egypt represented on the tables placed before priests, as part
of the inferia; or offerings to the dead, must have been acceptable
to them while living.
In their ablutions, as in their diet, they were equally severe,
and they maintained the strictest observance of numerous religious
customs. They bathed twice a day, and twice during the night ;
and some who pretended to a more rigid observance of religious
duties, washed themselves with water which had been tasted by
the ibis, supposed in consequence to bear an unquestionable
evidence of purity ; and shaving- the head and the whole body
every third day, they spared no pains to promote the cleanliness
of their persons, without indulging in the bath, as a luxury. A
grand ceremony of purification took place, previous and pre-
CiiAP. V. CONDUCT OF THE PRIESTS. 325
parator^' to their fasts, many of which lasted from seven to forty-
two days, and sometimes even a longer period : during- which
time they abstained entirely from animal food, from herbs and
vegetables, and from all extraordinary indulgences.
These " numerous religious olxservances," as well as the
dependence of all classes upon tliem for instruction, and the
possession of secrets known only to themselves, gave them that
influence tiiey so long possessed ; but they had obtained a power,
which, while it raised their own class, could not fail to degrade
the rest of the people ; who, allowed to substitute superstition
for religion, and credulity for belief, were taught to worship the
figures of imaginary beings, while they were excluded from a real
knowledge of the Deity, and of those truths which constituted
" the wisdom of the Egyptians." It was to liberate mankind
from the dark superstition, in which the selfish views of the
priesthood of those days had kept tlie world, that Moses received
his grand and important mission. Men were by him taught to
offer their prayers directly to the Deity, without the necessity of
depending on a frail moital, like themselves, for his pretended in-
tercession with One equally accessible to all ; and they learnt that
heaven was not to be purchased by money paid to the cupidity of
a privileged class, whose assumed right of pronouncing against
a man his exclusion from future happiness was an unwarrantable
assumption of divine authority, and an attempt to fabricate a
judgment in this world, which alone belonged to the Deity.
Privilege and power the priests certainly did enjoy, when
they could reach a man after his death, by refusing him a
passport to eternal happiness, and could still force his family
to pay them for pretended })rayers for their deceased relative ;
and nothing could be better devised to enforce obedience to
their will. It must, however, be allowed that they deserved
credit for setting a good example by their abstinence and moral
conduct ; their wisdom was shown by their tact and good policy
in giving no occasion for scandal and discontent ; and they
did not affect to be superior to the world by disregarding all
social ties. Thus while performing the affectionate duties of
326 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
fathers and husbands, they still kept up their influence over
society, and mled a flourishing- country, without prostrating
its resources, or checking the industry of the inhabitants ; and,
though we may censure an artful piece of priestcraft, we must
remember that it was established long before mankind enjoyed
tlie advantages of a thorough revelation.
The long duration of their system, and the feeling with which
it Avas regarded by the people, may also plead some excuse
for it ; and while the function of judges and the administra-
tion of the laws gave them unusual power, they had an ap-
parent claim to those offices, from having been the framers
of the codes of morality, and of the laws they superintended.
Instead of setting themselves above the king, and making
him succumb to their power, like tlie unprincipled Ethiopian
pontiffs, they acknowledged him as the head of the religion
and the state ; nor were they above the law ; no one of them,
nor even the king himself, could govern according to his own
arbitrary will ; his coii'^uct was amenable to an ordeal of his
subjects at his death, the people being allowed to accuse him of
misgover-mnent, and to prevent his being buried in his tomb on
tlie day of his funeral.
But though the regulations of the priesthood may have suited
the Egyptians in early times, certain institutions being adapted
to men in particular states of society, they erred in encouraging
a belief in legends they knew to be untrue, instead of puri-
fying and elevating the religious views of the people, and com-
mitted the fault of considering their unbending system perfect,
and suited to all times. Abuses therefore crept in ; credulity,
already shamefully encouraged, increased to such an extent that
it enslaved the mind, and paralyzed men's reasoning powers ;
and the result was that the Egyptians gave way to the grossest
superstitions, whicli at length excited universal ridicule and
contempt.
The religion of the Egyptians is a subject of too great extent
to be treated fully in a work of limited dimensions : little more
can therefore be given of it than a general outline.
Chap. V. RELIGION OF EGYPT. 327
The I'uiidanieiital due-trine was tiie unity uf the Deity ; hut tlii.-<
unity uas not represented, and He was known by a sentence, or
an idea, being, as Jamblichns says, '• worshipped in .silence." But
the attributes of this Being were represented under positive forms ;
and hence arose a multiplicity of gods, that engendered idolatry,
and caused a total misconception of the real natiu'e of the Deity,
in the minds of all who were not admitted to a knowledsre of the
truth through the mysteries. The division of God into his attri-
butes was in this manner. As soon as he was thoucrht to have
any reference to his works, or to man, he ceased to be quiescent ;
he became an agent ; and he was no longer the One, but dis-
tinguishable and divisible, according to his supposed character,
his actions, and his influence on the world. He was then the
Creator, the Divine Goodness, (or the abstract idea of Good,)
Wisdom, Power, and the like ; and as we speak of Him as the
Almigiity, the Mercil'ul, the Everlasting, so the Egyptians gave
to each of his various attributes a particular name. But they did
more : they separated them ; and to the uninitiated they became
distinct gods. As one of these, the Deity was Amun ; probably, the
divine mind in operation, the bringer to ligiit of the secrets of its
hidden will ; and he liad a complete human form, because man was
the intellectual animal, and the principal design of the divine will
in the creation. As the " Spirit of God " that moved on the face
of the vmters, the Deity was Nef, Nu, or Num ; over whom the
asp, the emblem of royalty and of the good genius, spread itself
as a canopy, while he stood in his boat. As tiie Creator he was
Pthah : and in this character ho was accompanied by the figure
of Truth. — a combination of it with the creative power which
recalls this sentence in the Epistle of St. James, " Of his own
will begat he us with the word of truth =" As the principle of
generation he was Khem. called " the father of his own fatlier"
— the abstract idea of father; as the goddess ]\Iaut was that of
mother, — who consequently "proceeded from her.<elf;" and
otli( r attributes, characters, and offices of tlie Deity held a rank
according to their clo.ser, or more di.stant, relation to his e.>-sence
and o^Hiraiions.
328 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
In order to specify and convey an impression of these abstract
notions to the eyes of men, it was thought necessary to distin-
guish them by some fixed representation ; and the figures of
Pthah, Osiris, Amun, Maut, Neith, and other gods or goddesses,
were invented as the signs of the various attributes of the Deity.
But it did not stop tliere ; and as the subtlety of philosophical
speculation entered into the originally simple theory, numerous
subdivisions of the divine nature were made ; and at length
anything which appeared to partake of, or bear analogy to it,
was admitted to a share of worship. Hence arose the various
grades of deities : and they were known as the gods of the first,
second, and third orders. But Herodotus is quite right in saying
that the Egyptians gave no divine honours to heroes.
The Egyptian figures of gods were only vicarious forms, not
intended to be looked upon as real personages ; and no one was
expected to believe that a being could exist with the head of an
animal joined to a human body ; but credulity will always do its
work ; the uneducated failed to take the same view of them, as
the initiated portion of the community ; and mere emblems soon
assumed the importance of the divine personages to which they
belonged. These abuses were the natural consequences of such
representations ; and experience has often shown how readily the
mind may be drawn away from the most spiritual worship to a
superstitious veneration for images, whether at first intended
merely to fix the attention, or to represent some legendary tale or
abstract idea. The religion of the Egyptians was a pantheism
rather than a polytheism ; and their admitting the sun and moon to
divine worship may rather be ascribed to this than to any admixture
of Sabaeism. The sun was thought to possess much of the divine
influence in its vivifying power, and its various other effects ; and it
was not only one of the grandest works, but was one of the direct
agents, of the deity. The moon was in another similar capacity ;
and, as the regulator of time and the messenger of heaven, was
figured as the Ibis-headed Thoth, the god of letters, and the deity
who registered man's actions and the events of his life.
They not only attributed to tlie sun and moon, and to other
CiiAP. V. SUBDIVISION OF THE DEITY. 32'J
supposed agents, a parfici|)ati()ii in the divine essence, but even
stones and jjlaiits were thought to have some portion of it ; anil
certain ])eculiarities were often discovered in the habits or appear-
ance of animals, vviiich were supposed to bear a resemblance to
the divine character. Even a king was sometimes represented
making oH'erings to another figure of himself in the temples,
siijuifvinur that his human did iiomaure to his divine nature.
Tliey also represente<l the same dei'ty under different names and
characters ; Isis, from the number of her titles, was called " My-
rionymus," or " ^\ith ten thousand names." A god or goddess
was also worshipped as residing in some particular place, or
as gifted with some peculiar quality ; like the iMinerva Polias,
and various Minervas, tlie several Venuses, the Jupiters, and
others ; and modern custom has made a variety of Madonnas
from the one Virgin.
Among other remarkable theories of the Egyptians, was the
union of certain attributes into triads; the third number of which
proceeded from the other two ; and in every city one of these
combinations was the triad of the place. The first members were
not always of the first order of gods, nor was it necessarj' they
should be ; and an attribute of the deity might be combined with
some abstract idea to form a resulc.
Tiiis notion had been held by them at the earliest periods of
the Egyptian monarchy ; it is, therefore, an anaciironism to
derive this, and other Egyptian doctrines, from the peninsula of
India, in which j)art of the country the Hindoos did not settle
till long after the age of the 18th dynasty, when they gradually
dispossessed, and confined to certain districts, those original im»i)u-
lations, who are supposed to be of Scythian origin ; and if there
ia any connexion between the two religions of Egypt and India,
this must be ascribed to the period before the two races left
Central Asia.
Certain innovations were introduced in early days into the
religion of Egypt, but they were partial, and such as might
be expected from the progress of superstition ; and if instances
occur of sudden and positive changes, there is reason to believe
330 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
they were brought about by the influence of strangers ; as the
banishment of Amun from the Pantheon for a short time, through
the usurpation of the Stranger kings, towards the end of the 1 8th
dynasty.
The expulsion of Seth, or Evil, seems also to have been
the result of foreign influence. The children of Seb and Netpe
(Saturn and Rhea) were Osiris, Seth, Aroeris, Isis, and Nep-
thys. Osiris and Seth (or Typho) were brothers ; the former
represented " good," the latter " evil." In early times they were
both adored as gods throughout Upper and Lower Egypt, and
were considered part of the same divine system. For Evil had
not yet been confounded with sin or wickedness ; and this last was
figured as Apop (Apophis) " the giant," wlio, in the form of the
" great serpent," the enemy of gods and of mankind, was pierced
by the spear of Horus, Atmoo, and other deities. Osiris and
Seth were even placed synonymously in the names of some kings
at the same period, and on the same monument ; the latter was
figured instructing the monarch in the use of the bow, being a
cause of evil ; and Seth's pouring from a vase, in conjunction
with Horus, the emblems of life and power over the newly-
crowned king, was intended to show that good and evil affected
the world equally, as a necessary condition of human existence.
As soon as the change was resolved upon, the name and figure
of the square-eared Seth were everywhere hammered out ; he was
branded as the enemy of Osiris ; not merely opposed as a neces-
sary consequence, but as if it were from his own agency, as
Ariman to Ormusd, or the Manichsean Satan to God. The exact
period when he was "expelled from Egypt "is uncertain. It
may have been at the time of the 22nd dynasty ; and if Seshonk
(Shishak), and the other kings of that dynasty, were Assyrians,
as Mr. Birch supposes, the reason of it may be readily explained.
The conflict of ivickedncts and goodness was not, however, a
novel theory with the Egyptians, as is shown by the most ancient
representations of the snake-giant Apop, the symbol of sin; nor
was the peculiar office of Osiris a late introduction, after Seth (or
Typho) had been banished from the Pantheon. The unphilo-
Chap V. OSIlllS. 381
sophical innovation was, in Setli being' converted from rril into
si/i, iind made tlie enemy, instead of the ueccssarij unlagonistic
companion, of good.
The peculiar cliaracter of Osiris, his coming- upnu eartli for
the benefit of mankind, with the titles of '• manif'ester of good
and truth," liis being put to death by the malice of tlie evil one ;
his burial and resurrection, and his becoming- the judge of the
dead, are the most interesting features of the Egyptian religion.
This was the great mystery ; and this myth and his worship were
of the earliest times, and universal in Egypt. He was to every
Egyptian the great judge of the dead ; and it is evident that
Moses abstained from making- any very pointed allusion to the
future state of man, because it would ha\e recalled the well-
known Judge of the dead, and all tlie funeral ceremonies of Egypt,
and have brought back the thoughts of the " mixed multitude,"
and of all whose minds were not entirely uncontaminated by
Egyptian habits, to the very superstitions from wliicli it was ids
object to purify them. Osiris was to every Egy[)tian tlie great
deity of a future state ; and though different gods enjoyed par-
ticular honours in tlieir resjjective cities, the importance of
Osiris was admitted throughout tlie country.
Certain cities and districts ^\'ere appropriated to certain gods,
who were the chief deities of the place ; and while Anuin had his
pruicipal temple at I'iiebes, Memphis was the great city of
Pthah, as Ileliopolis of Ke or the Sun, and otlier cities of other
divinities ; no two neighbouring districts, or chief cities, being:
given to the same god. But altliougii Amim was the great god
of Thebes, as Pthah was of jNIemphis, it is not to be supposed that
their separate worship originated in two parts of Egypt, or that
the religions of the Upi)er and Lower country were once distinct,
and afterwards united into one. Tliey were members of the
same Pantheon.
" A balance of power," as of honour, was thus otaldished for
the principal gods; minor deities being satisfied with towns of
minor importance. Other divinities shared the honours of the
sanctuary ; and different triads, or single gods, were admitted to a
332 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Cilap. V.
post in the various temples of Egypt : thus Pthah had a suitable
position in a Theban adytum ; Amun, and Nef, or the triads of
Tliebes and of the Cataracts, of which they were respectively the
first persons, were figured on the temples at Memphis ; and none
were necessarily excluded, provided room could be found for
them, except purely local deities. Those of a neighbouring
town were more readily admitted to a place among the con-
templar gods ; it was at least a neighbourly compliment ; and it
suited the convenience of the priests, quite as much as the gods
themselves. Many minor divine beings, whose worship was
ordained for some particular object, and certain emblems, or
sacred animals, were admitted in one and excluded from another
place. Thus the reverence for the crocodile, encouraged in some
inland town, in order that the canals might be properly kept up,
was found unnecessary in places by the river side, where he was
probably held in abhorrence ; and the same animal, which was
highly regarded in one district, was a symbol of evil in another.
Still all was part of the same system ; and however changed and
perverted it afterwards became, the original composition of the
Pantheon dates from the most remote periods of Egyptian history ;
and the few innovations introduced in early times occasioned no
real alteration in the principle of the religion itself. Changes
certainly took place in the speculations of the Egyptians, as in
their mode of representing them ; and some foreign deities were
occasionally admitted into their Pantheon ; yet the original pro-
gress of their ideas may readily be traced, from the one God, to
the Deity in action under various characters, as well as numerous
abstract ideas made into separate gods. Of these last, two are
particularly worthy of notice, from being common to many other
religions ; which have treated them according to their peculiar
views. They are the Nature gods ; sometimes represented as the
sun and earth, by people who were inclined to a physical rather
than an ideal treatment of the subject ; but which the speculative
Egyptians considered as the vivifying or generative principle, the
abstract idea of " father," and the producing principle of nature,
or " mother ;" both consequent upon the creative action. Of
CiiAP. Y. NATUKE GODDESS. PRIESTS. 333
tliesc, tlic latter was originally (as one of tlie great deities) only
the abstract idea of " mother," Mdut, whose emblem was a vul-
ture ; and if anotiier — Isis (sometimes identified with Athor, the
Egyptian Venus), holding the child ITorus, her offspring — was a
direct representation of the maternal oHice, she may be considered
an offset of the mytli. Two other goddesses also belonged to it,
the one of parturition (Luciiia), and the other of gestation ; the
former connected with tlie maternal idea by having the vulture as
her emblem, the latter related to Isis as tfie " motlier of the child ;"
and thus the analogies and relationsliips of various deities were
kept up on one side, while on tlie other the subdivisions and
minute shades of difference increased the number and complica-
tion of these ideal beings. Thus too the relationship of deities
in many mythologies may be recognised ; representing as they do
the same original idea ; and the Alitta, or Mylitta {i. <?., " tlie
child-bearing" goddess) of the Aralis and Assyrians, the Anaitis
of Persia, the Syrian Astarte, and Venus-Urania, Cybele, and
" the Queen of heaven," the " Mother of the cliild " found in
Western Asia, Egypt, India, ancient Italy, and even in IMexico,
the i}rolific Diana of Ephesus, and others, are various cliaracters
of the 2s at u re goildess.
The dress of the priests was simple ; but the robes of ceremony
were grand and imposing ; and besides the leo])ard-skin dress of
the prophet were otlier peculiarities of costume, that marked their
respective grades. Necklaces, bracelets, garlands, and otiier orna-
ments were also put on, during the religious ceremonies in the
temple. The material of their robes was linen ; but they some-
times wore cotton garments ; and it was lawful to have an upjier
one of wool as a cloak ; though they were not jierniitted to enter a
temple with this last, nor to wear woollen garments next the skin.
Nor could any body be buried in bandages of that material.
The dresses of the priests consisted of an under garment, like the
usual ajiron worn by the Egyptians, and a loose upper robe with
full sleeves, secured by a girdle round the loins ; or of the apron,
and a shirt with short, tight sleeves, over wiiicli was thrown a
loose robe, leaving the right arm exposed. Sometimes a oriest,
334
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Chap. V.
when officiating in the temple, laid aside the upper vestment,
and was satisfied to wear an ample robe bound round the waist,
and descending over the apron to his ankles (which answers to
286.
7 8
Dresses for Priests.
8, 9. Hierogi-ammat, or sacred scribe.
Thebes.
the dress of the Stolistes mentioned by Clemens, " covering only
the lower part of the body ") ; and occasionally he put on a long
full garment, reachuig from below the arms to the feet, and sup-
ported over the neck with straps.* Others again, in the sacred
processions, were entirely covered with a dress of this kind, reach-
ing to the throat, and concealing even the hands and arms."]"
The costume of the hierogrammat, or sacred scribe,| consisted
Fig. 4.
t Fig. 5.
t Fig. 8.
ClIAl-. V
DRESSES OF PRIESTS.
335
of a large kelt or ajn-oii, either tied in front, or wcjuihI ntnnd thf
lower part of the body ; and the loose uj)i)er robe with full sleeves,
which, in all cases, was of the finest linen. lie had sometimes
one or two feathers on his head, as described by Clemens and
Diodorus.* Those who l)ore the sacred emblems wore a lonj^,
full aprou reaching to the ankles, tied in front with long bands ;
and a strap, also of linen, passed over the shoulder to support it."}"
Sometimes a priest, who ottered incense, was clad in tiiis long
apron, and the full robe with sleeves, or only in the former ;
and the dress of the same priest varied on different occasions.
Their sandals were made of tiie papyrus and palm-leaves, and the
simjilicity of tiieir habits extended to fhe bed they slept upon,
which was sometimes a skin stretched on the ground, or a sort of
wicker bedstead of palm branches, | covered with a mat or a skin ;
and their head was supported by a wooden concave pillow.
The same mode of resting the heaxi was common to all the
287
Alabaster pillow for the head.
AlnvHck ifuteum.
Egyptians, and a considerable number of these stools § have been
found in the tombs of Thebes: generally of sycamore, acacia, or
* Woodcut 286, fg. 9. f ^'9- 6. X ^Voodcut 84,^'^. 1, p. 71.
$ Woodcuts 287, and 82, 83, p. 71.
336 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS Chap. V.
tamarisk wood ; or of alabaster, not inelegantly formed, and fre-
quently ornamented with coloured hierogiyjjhics. In Abyssinia,
and in parts of Upper Ethiopia, they still adopt the same sup-
port for the head ; and the materials of which they are made are
either wood, stone, or common earthenware. Nor are they pe-
culiar to Abyssinia and the valley of the Nile : the same custom
prevails in far distant countries ; and we find them used in Japan,
China, and Ashantee, and even in the island of Otaheite (Tahiti),
where they are also of wood, but longer and less concave than
those of Africa.
Next in rank to the priests were the military. To them was
assigned one of tlie three portions into which tlie land of Egypt
was divided by an edict of Sesostris, in order, says Diodorus,
" that those who exposed themselves to danger in the field might
be more ready to undergo the hazards of war, from the interest
they felt in the country as occupiers of the soil ; for it would be ab-
surd to commit the safety of the community to those who possessed
nothing which they w^ere interested in preserving." Each soldier,
whether on duty or no, was allowed 12 arourae of land (a little
more than eight English acres) free from all charge ; and another
important privilege was, that no soldier could be cast into prison
for debt ; Bocchoris, tlie framer of this law, considering that it
would be dangerous to allow the eivdl power the right of arrest-
ing those who were the chief defence of the state. They were
instructed from their youth in the duties and requirements of
soldiers, and trained in all the exercises that fitted them for an
active career ; and a sort of military school appears to have been
established for the purpose.
Each man was obliged to provide himself with the necessarj'
arms, offensive and defensive, and everything requisite for a
campaign ; and he was expected to hold himself in readiness
for taking the field when required, or for garrison duty. The
principal garrisons were posted in the fortified towns of Pelusium,
Marea, Eileithyias, Hieraconpolis, Syene, Elephantine, and other
intermediate places ; and a large portion of the army was fre-
quently called upon, by their warlike mouarchs, to invade a
CuAP V. THE ARMY 337
foreig;!! country, or to suppress those rebellions whicli occasionally
broke out in the conquered provinces.
The whole military force, consisting of 410,000, was divided
into t>vo corps, the Calasiries and Ilermotybies. They furnished
a body of men to do the duty of roya-1 ]^uards, 1000 of each bcinfr
annually selected for that purpose; and each soldier had an ad-
ditional allowance of "five mince of bread, with two of beef, and
four ariiMers of wine," as daily rations, during the period of his
service.
The Calasiries (Klashr) were the most numerous, and amounted
to 250,000 men, at the time that Egypt was most populous.
They inhabited the nomes of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis,
Mendes, Sebennytus, Athribis, Pharbaethus, Thmuis, Onuphis,
Anysis, and the Isle of Myecphoris, which was opposite Bubastis ;
and the Ilermotybies, who lived in those of Busiris, Sai's, Chem-
mis, Papremis, the Isle of Prosopitis, and the half of Natho,
made up the remaining 160.000. It was here that they abode
while retired from military service, and in these nomes their farms
or portions of land were situated, which tended to encourage
habits of industry, and keep up a taste for active employment.
Besides the native corps they had mercenary troops, who
were enrolled either from the nations in alliance with the Egyp-
tians, or from those who had been conquered by them. They
were divided into regiments, sometimes disciplined in the same
manner as theEgyptians, though allowed to retain their arms and
costume ; but they were not on the same footing as the native
troops ; they had no land, and merely received pay, like other
hired soldiers. Strabo speaks of them as mercenaries ; and the
million of men he mentions must have included these foreign
auxiliaries. When formally enrolled in the army they were con-
sidered a part of it, and accompanied the victorious legions on
their return from foreign conquest ; and they sometimes assisted
in performing garrison duty in Egypt, in the place of those
Eg)-ptian troops which were left to guard the conquered pro-
vinces.
The strength of the army consisted in archers, whose skill con-
VOL. I. z
338
THE ANCIE>'r EGYPTIANS.
Chap. V.
fig- 1-
288.
Jig. 2. Jig. 3.
Allies of the Egyptians.
Jig. 4.
Thebts.
tributed mainly to the successes of the Egyptians ; as of our
own ancestors ; and their importance is shown by the Egyptian
" soldier " being represented as an archer kneeling, often pre-
ceded by the word " Klashr" converted by Herodotus into
" Calasiris." They fought either on foot or in chariots,, and
may therefore be classed under the separate heads of a mounted
and unmounted corps ; and they constituted a great part of both
wings. Several bodies of liea\y infantry, divided into regiments,
eacli distinguished by its peculiar arms, formed the centre ; and
the cavalry (which, according to the Scriptural accounts, was
numerous) covered and supported the foot.
Though Egyptian horsemen are rarely found on any monu-
ments, they are too frequently and positively noticed in sacred
and profane history to allow us to question their employment ;
and an ancient battle-axe represents a mounted soldier on its
blade.*
Woodcut 355.
340 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
At Jacob's funeral a great number of chariots and horseme?i
are said to have accompanied Joseph ;* horsemen as well as
chariots pursued the Israelites on their leaving Egypt ;f the
song of Moses mentions in Pharaoh's army the " horse an his
rider ■"% Herodotus also represents Amasis " on horseback " in
his interview with the messenger of Apries ; and Diodorus speaks
of 24,000 horse in the army of Sesostris, besides 27,000 war
chariots. Shishak, the Egyptian Sheshonk, had with him 60,000
horsemen when he went to fight against Jerusalem ;§ and men-
tion is made of the Egyptian cavalry in other parts of sacred and
profane history ; as well as in the hieroglyphics, which show
that the " command of the cavalry " was a very honourable and
important post, and generally held by the most distinguished of
the king's sons.
The Egyptian infantrj^ was divided into regiments, very similar,
as Plutarch observes, to the \o-^oi and ra^ttc of the Greeks ; and
these were formed and distinguished according to the arms they
bore. They consisted of bowmen, spearmen, swordsmen, club-
men, slingers, and other corp-^, disciplined according to the
rules of regular tactics ; || and the regiments being divided
into battalions and companies, each officer had his peculiar rank
and command, like the chiliarchs, hecatontarchs, decarchs, and
others among the Greeks, or the captains over thousands, hun-
dreds, fifties, and tens, among tlie Jews.lf When in battle array,
the heavy infantry, armed with spears and shields, and a falchion,
or other weapon, was drawn up in the form of an impregnable
phalanx ;** and the bowmen as well as the light infantry were
taught either to act in line, or to adopt more open movements,
according to the nature of the ground, or the state of the enemy's
battle. Bat the phalanx once formed was fixed and unchange-
able, &iid the 10,000 Egyptians in the army of Croesus could not
be induced to oppose a larger front to the enemy, being accus-
* Gen. 1. 9. f Exod. xiv. 28 : comp. 2 Kings, xviii. 24 ; Isa. xxxvi. 9.
X Exod. XV. 21. § 2 Chron. xii. 3.
II See woodcuts 289, 290. ^ Deut. i. 15.
** See woodcut next page.
Chap. V.
THE PHALANX.
841
l:i\).
Phalanx of heavy infantry.
JhiUi.
342 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Chap. V.
tomed always to form in a compact body, having 100 men in
each face. Such was the strength of this mass that no efforts of
the Persians could avail against it ; and Cyrus being unable to
break it, after he had defeated the rest of Croesus's army, gave the
Egyptians honourable terms, assigning them the cities of Larissa
and Cyllene, near Cumas and the sea, for an abode ; where their de-
scendants still lived in the time of Xenophon. In that battle the
phalanx had adopted the huge shields, reaching to the soldiers'
feet, and completely covering them from the enemy's missiles,
which some of the Egyptian infantry are represented to have used
at the period of the Vlth Dynasty.*
Each battalion, and indeed each company, had its particular
standard, which represented a sacred subject, — a king's name, a
sacred boat, an animal, or some emblematic device ; and the
soldiers either followed or preceded it, according to the service on
which they were employed, or as circumstances required. The
objects chosen for their standards were such as were regarded bj'
the troops with a superstitious feeling of respect ;f and being
raised, says Diodorus, on a spear (or staff), which an officer bore
aloft,| they served to point out to the men their respective regi-
ments, encouraged them to the charge, and offered a conspicuous
rallying point in the confusion of battle.
The post of stand 
